Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Friday requested Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to run 12 special trains on various routes to bring back the people of the state stranded outside Uttarakhand.
According to a press statement from the Chief Minister Office (CMO), CM Rawat held a meeting with officials to review the preparations to bring back the people of Uttarakhand who are stranded in other states.
"To bring back the people of the state stranded outside Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has requested Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to run 12 special trains on various routes. These include Delhi to Dehradun, Delhi to Haldw, Chandigarh to Dehradun, Lucknow to Dehradun, Lucknow to Haldw, Jaipur to Dehradun, Jaipur to Haldw, Mumbai to Dehradun, Mumbai to Haldw, Bhopal to Dehradun, Bangalore to Dehradun and Ahmedabad to Dehradun," reads the statement.
The statement further reads that on the request of the Chief Minister, it was conveyed by the Railway Minister, Goyal that long-distance trains would be allowed, while short-distance trains would require permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The Chief Minister said that Delhi, Chandigarh has a large number of people from Uttarakhand who want to come to the state. Therefore, they will request the Union Home Minister about trains running from these stations also.
Transport and Urban Development Secretary Shailesh Bagauli informed that so far 87 thousand people have registered themselves to come back. Most of these people are from hilly districts.
The Chief Minister said that all the arrangements should be made in a planned manner in coordination with the respective states, in which individual distance, mask, stization, etc. standards should be ensured with utmost care. Those who are to be brought back should be properly screened for coronavirus infection.
The Chief Minister said that all the action should be done as per the guidelines issued by the Central Government.
Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has allowed the movement of migrant workers, tourists, students and other persons stranded at different places, by special trains.
The order came after several chief ministers requested the Centre to arrange special trains to move stranded migrants to their respective destinations. Earlier, the MHA had allowed the movement of migrants by road only.
( With inputs from ANI )