‘Avoid travel by train unless it is essential’

‘Avoid travel by train unless it is essential’

Cases of deaths were due to pre-existing medical conditions, says Railway Minister Piyush Goyal

30/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,NEW DELHI

Piyush Goyal

In the wake of some deaths on the Shramik Special trains, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said the “few unfortunate cases” were related to pre-existing medical conditions.

Mr. Goyal put up a Twitter post appealing to people “suffering from serious ailments, pregnant women and those above 65 years and below 10 years” to travel on Shramik Special trains only if necessary.

The railways started running the trains from May 1 to ferry migrants stranded due to the nationwide lockdown. As per reported data, at least nine migrants have lost their lives while travelling on them.

“Indian Railways has been running Shramik Special trains on a daily basis throughout the country to ensure that migrants can travel back to their homes. It has been observed that some people who are availing this service have pre-existing medical conditions which aggravates the risk they face during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mr. Goyal’s post said.

“...Ministry of Railways makes an appeal that persons with co-morbidities (for example - hypertension, diabetes, cardio-vascular diseases, cancer, immune deficiency conditions), pregnant women, children below the age of 10 years and persons above 65 years of age may avoid travel by rail, except when it is essential,” the post said.

The railways were working 24x7 to ensure that services were provided to all the citizens of the country needing to travel, the post said.

He further said that the safety of passengers was “our biggest concern. So, we seek the cooperation of all citizens in this matter.”

As of May 28, the railways had operationalised 3,736 Shramik Specials across the country, transporting around 50 lakh passengers to their home States.