Railway chief defends migrant crisis handling, says only 4 trains ran late by over 72 hrs

Coming in defense of its record in handling the migrant crisis, the Railways on Friday said only four out of 3,840 trains carrying migrants have taken over 72 hours to reach their destination and assured that Shramik Special trains will continue to run till the time the migrants don't reach their destinations.

Railway Board chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav said that 279 'Shramik Special' trains have been run till May 20 and all requests from States have been accommodated by the national transporter. Almost three lakh migrants are being ferried by the railways on a daily basis, he said.

Speaking on the reported delays of Shramik trains, Vinod Kumar Yadav said, "Only four trains out of 3,840 total have taken over 72 hours to reach their destination. 90% of trains have been run with an average speed higher than normal mail express trains. A media report stated that a train reached Siwan (from Surat) in nine days, this is fake news. The train reached its destination in two days."

He added that the Railways will schedule the Shramik trains on the same day as they get demand from originating Sate and will run the train on the next day itself.

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Trying our best...

Addressing the press after weeks of media reports highlighting the plight of destitute migrants dying of hunger or heat on trains and railway stations,  Yadav asserted, "We are trying our best in resolving issues and supplying food and water to all passengers, despite the difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic," although declining to share figures of deaths on railway premises or trains. He expressed grief over the matter and requested a "sensitive approach" towards the situation. 

As per reports, nine passengers have been found dead in Shramik Special trains since Monday and they included a woman whose toddler son was seen trying to wake her up in a heart-wrenching scene at a railway platform in Bihar. While a few deaths on board the non-air conditioned trains were also reported earlier after they were launched on May 1 to ferry migrants to their home states, the Railways on Wednesday said most of the deceased had pre-existing health conditions, news agency PTI reported.

The Railway Board chairman further said that state governments are responsible to provide food and water at starting stations to passengers while the IRCTC and Railway Divisions arrange fee meals and water for migrants in trains en-route. He also claimed that the two bodies have faced a manpower shortfall but the Railways have brought in their own staff to aid the distribution process.

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Demand for Shramik train declining

Yadav also asked people with co-morbidities, pregnant women, children below the age of 10 years and persons above 65 years of age to avoid travel by rail, except when it is essential, citing the risk of Coronavirus infection. He further said that the demand of originating states for Shramik special trains are gradually coming down.

"The requirement of states as on May 24 was 923 trains, as per requirement yesterday, the figure is now 449 trains. This suggests the demand for such trains is going down but we have the capacity to run more if asked," the official said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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