Railways has run 222 Shramik Special Trains for movement of stranded people so far: MHA

New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday said that Railways has run 222 Shramik Special Trains for movement of stranded persons, and more than 2.5 lakh people have made use of this facility so far.

Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary, MHA told reporters here at a press conference that, “The sequel in this series is now an attempt by the government to bring back the citizens trapped abroad in a phased manner. The arrangement for this travel is being carried out by non-scheduled commercial flights and navy ships, the process has commenced from May 7.”

“According to the SOP issued for this type of travel, the Indians trapped abroad will get themselves registered with the Indian Embassy and High Commission. Pregnant women, students, people whose VISA is about to expire and medical emergency cases will be given priority,” she added.

Srivastava continued saying that the passengers will be screened before boarding and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to travel.

Railways has run 222 Shramik Special Trains for movement of stranded persons, more than 2.5 lakh people have made use of this facility so far: Punya Salila Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/M8JF8y5LwD

— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2020

“Civil Aviation and health protocols should be followed during the travel. All the passengers will have to give an undertaking stating that they will be kept under mandatory institutional quarantine for 14 days, at their own expenses,” said Srivastava.

On reaching the destination, everyone will be undergoing the medical check-up and they will have to register themselves on Aarogya Setu app, she added.

“If a person is found symptomatic, he or she would be taken to the medical facility while others will be taken to the institutional quarantine for 14 days. After that they will be again tested for COVID-19,” said Srivastava.

“Similarly, many foreigners, green-card or OCI holders and Indians who want to return to other countries due to several reasons, travel arrangements have been made for them if the respective countries allow them to enter,” she added.

An Inter-Ministerial Coordination Committee has been made for the successful implementation of the SOPs, Health Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Home Ministry, Military Affairs Department, Civil Aviation Ministry and senior officials of Air India, Srivastava informed.

“INS Jalashwa has reached Maldives and it will return with 700 passengers including children and women. It will leave from there today and it is likely to reach Kochi on May 10,” she added. (ANI)