Delhi CM Kejriwal asks Centre to run 100 more trains for migrants

AAP government has received nearly 4 lakh applications to leave the city and the current number of trains is inadequate, Kejriwal says.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia during a press conference. (Photo | Parveen Negi, EPS)
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia during a press conference. (Photo | Parveen Negi, EPS)

NEW DELHI: In order to speed up the process of sending the migrant labourers back to their native states, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday asked the Centre to allow that 100 special trains should be run from Delhi for the next few days.

“We have received approximately four lakh online applications from stranded people who want to go back to their natives states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Currently, we are sending a few trains but the number is inadequate. I request the Centre to provide us 100 trains for the next four to five days,” added Kejriwal.
After the Central government’s order  earlier this month, Delhi government has so far sent more than 30,000 stranded migrants to different states in the country till last week.

According to the AAP government, daily the number of migrants that are being sent to their home is increasing and the government is unable to stop them with its free food or schemes.As per the official data, over 18,000 people were housed in about 340 shelters across the national capital.The government has also arranged about 1,900 Food Centres catering to over million beneficiaries daily twice.

However, Kejriwal said that once economic activities get reinstated,people will return looking for employment.The chief minister also criticised central government’s 20 lakh crore package saying that a direct benefit transfer into accounts of the needy would have been more effective.

Meanwhile, as the numbers of COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the national capital,Kejriwal on Tuesday said Delhi government has made arrangements to handle 50,000 active cases, if the tally reaches
that high.

“For the last two months we have prepared to handle 50,000 active cases at anytime, we will soon have 4,000 oxygen beds in place which should be enough is the number of cases reach that high. For home quarantine patients, a team of health experts talks to the patients on phone daily to know their health status and any other requirements that the government can assist with,” said Kejriwal. 

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