Resume Shramik Special trains: Pradhan to Goyal

BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has requested Railway Minister Piyush Goyal for resumption of Shramik Special train service from Odisha to ferry migrant workers back to their workplace in states like Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

Writing to the Railway Minister, Pradhan said he has received a number of requests from migrants from Ganjam district who have requested to restart train services so that they can reach their workplace.“As we resume our path to normalcy with lifting of the nationwide lockdown, there is a need to resume rail services for migrant workers back to their workplace,” Pradhan said.He said these workers have highlighted their plight due to unavailability of livelihood options and difficulty in travelling back to their workplace to rejoin work.

“I am informed that even though some employers are willing to offer bus transport service from Odisha, due to the prevailing monsoon conditions, a long and arduous journey via road is neither feasible nor safe,” Pradhan said.

Eight migrants were killed and several others sustained serious injuries on Saturday when a bus carrying 67 people from Ganjam met an accident near Raipur in Chhattisgarh. All the passengers of the bus were returning to their work place in Surat.

“Keeping in mind the need to reignite our economy and the plight of migrant workers in Odisha who are in urgent need of livelihood, I request your personal intervention for restarting of Shramik Special trains from Odisha to states like Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra at earliest,” the letter said.Sources in Railways said the national transporter is not keen to operate more Shramik Special trains, but will run more regular trains on demand from Odisha. No other state has asked for such trains yet.