NEW DELHI: Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday urged people suffering from serious ailments, pregnant women, children and those above 65 years to travel in Shramik trains "only when necessary".
"I appeal to people suffering from serious ailments, pregnant women and those above 65 years and below 10 years of age to travel only when necessary in Shramik Trains. Railway Parivaar is committed to ensuring safety of all passengers," Goyal tweeted.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Railways appealed to the passengers stating, 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 aggravate the risk they face during the COVID-19 pandemic. A few unfortunate cases of deaths related to pre-existing medical conditions while travelling has happened.
" In order to protect the vulnerable persons from COVID-19, in line with Ministry of Home Affairs, Order No 40-3/2020-DM-I(A) dated 17.05.2020, Ministry of Railways makes an appeal that persons with co-morbidities (for example - hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular 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," Ministry of Railways stated.
"Indian Railway parivaar is working 24X7 to ensure that rail services are provided to all the citizens of the country needing to travel. But safety of our passengers is our biggest concern. So, we seek the cooperation of all citizens in this matter. In case of any distress or emergency please do not hesitate to reach out to your railway parivaar and we will help you as always (Helpline number - 139 and 138)," the Ministry added.