Uttar Pradesh government has given approval to nearly 800 Shramik special trains for migrants labourers while West Bengal government has given nod to only 19 trains so far, Railway Ministry sources said, noting that "states blocking trains" was harming migrants.
"Unfortunately, many states are not giving approvals for trains carrying their own migrants, resulting in migrants being forced to walk on roads or travel through unsafe vehicles like trucks etc. and violating social distancing. Only Uttar Pradesh has been able to give as many approvals as required, resulting in nearly 800 trains being approved for the state. On the other hand, a large migrant state like West Bengal has approved only 19 trains till date," a source said.
The sources said even Bihar is not allowing more than 50 trains per day while the requirement is of 200 trains per day.
They said that other migrant-heavy states have approved very less trains - Chhattisgarh only 19 trains, Rajasthan only 33 trains and Jharkhand only 72 trains.
They said Odisha has also suspended trains to coastal areas due to cyclone and no trains are going to Ganjam district as it has a significant number of people in quarantine already.
The process for running a Shramik special trains involves the approval of original and destination states and if a train has to go from Gujarat to West Bengal, both states should give their approval.
The Railways is running the special trains after Home Ministry granted permission for movement of stranded citizens including migrants labourers, workers, students, tourists to return to their native towns amid lockdown.
( With inputs from ANI )