UP CM lauds Centre's move to run special trains for stranded migrants amid lockdown

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday lauded the Central and the state government for helping citizens amid the COVID-19 lockdown. Taking to Twitter, he stated that "In this war against Corona, the Central and State Government have made every effort to make sure the citizens do not have to go through a lot of trouble."

Speaking about the Centre's initiative to arrange special trains for the stranded citizens, the Chief Minister said, "In this direction, the central government has arranged special trains to take the stranded labourers/workers, students, tourists to their homes." In another tweet, he lauded and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railways Minister Piyush Goyal for starting the initiative. He added, "Everybody needs to be patient. By following the rules made for the health and safety of the passengers, everyone will be taken to their houses safely."

Read: What are Shramik special trains? Learn how they will be used to aid stranded migrants

Centre arranges Shramik Special Trains

The Indian Railways has launched an initiative wherein special trains will run from specific destinations to the hometowns of several stranded migrants, labour workforce, students, pilgrims, tourists and special requirement of persons amid the lockdown. According to reports, the state authorities and Indian Railways will work in a collaborative effort to minimize contact through special social distancing and running the trains at a set percentage of its capacity.

Read: COVID-19: Kerala govt announces new guidelines for lockdown 3.0

India extends lockdown

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday issued a notification extending the nationwide lockdown by two weeks from May 4. The notification states the considerable relaxations in districts falling in green and orange zones allowed by MHA, will continue to remain in place. The Union Health Ministry has divided all districts across the nation as red (classified based on total active cases, doubling rate, the extent of testing and surveillance), orange (those neither in green or red zones), and green zones (Zero cases for past 21 days).

According to the latest update from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, the number of total Coronavirus cases in the country has climbed to 40,263, including 28,070 active cases. While 1,306 deaths have been reported overall, around 10,887 people have been cured/discharged/migrated. Meanwhile, Maharashtra and Delhi have the highest number of cases in the country. 

Read: Yogi govt amends Epidemic Act to protect health workers as per Centre's ordinance

Read: UP CM Yogi Adityanath hits back at Sanjay Raut, tells him to 'worry about Maha and not UP'