Telangana to run 40 trains daily to send migrants home

Naveen S Garewal

Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, May 5

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) has announced the running of 40 special trains per day from Tuesday to send migrant labourers back to their native places.

The trains will run for one week. The state will make all travel arrangements for trains leaving from Hyderabad, Warangal, Khammam, Damaracharla and other places in the state.

The trains would leave for Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and other states.

The CM held a review meeting on the problems being faced by the migrant labour in the state due to lockdown. Medical and Health Minister Etela Rajender, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, DGP Sri Mahender Reddy and others attended the meeting.

KCR said he had spoken to SC Railway General manager Gajanan Mallya and requested him to arrange 40 special trains from Tuesday. Earlier, the state government had appointed senior IAS officer Sandeep Sultania and senior IPS officer Jitendra as Special Officers to oversee the travel of migrant workers.

KCR said the higher percentage of those affected with and dying due to corona virus were in Hyderabad and its neighbouring three districts and hence there was a need to further tighten and implement lockdown in Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medchel and Vikarabad districts.

“In the state so far 1,085 people were affected with the virus. Among these, so far, 585 people were discharged, 29 died and 471 were under the treatment. The virus spread is more in Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medchel and Vikarabad districts. Of the total 1,085 positive cases, 717 (66.08 per cent) belong to these four districts. Among those dead, 82.21 per cent belong to these four districts. For the past 10 days, the highest number of cases were reported from these districts only. The situation is not at all good in these districts. Hence, please do not give any relaxations in these four districts. Continue lockdown as it is, if need be, more strictly. The situation has improved in other districts. Containment zones number also decreased there. In those districts red zones are becoming orange zones and orange zones are becoming green,” the chief minister said, quoting a report submitted by the Medical and health department.

The Cabinet, which will hold a meeting later on Tuesday, is expected to discuss at length on the report submitted by the Medical and health department. There is a possibility that the cabinet would discuss whether to continue the lockdown conditions, or give some relaxations and what should be done in the districts where the corona virus spread is more and other issues and take a decision.