Bengal govt has arranged 105 more trains to ferry stranded migrants back home: Mamata

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said her government has made arrangements for 105 more trains to bring back people stuck in different parts of the country, amid claims by the opposition that the state is not taking adequate measures to ferry them home.

Earlier, the government had given nod for 10 trains to facilitate the return of labourers, patients, tourists and students stranded in other states owing to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Three of the 10 trains have reached the state so far.

"Towards our commitment to helping all our people stuck in different parts of the country and who want to return back to Bengal, I am pleased to announce that we have arranged 105 additional special trains.

Over the coming days, these special trains will embark from different states for various destinations across Bengal bringing our people back home," Banerjee tweeted on Thursday.

She also shared the list of 105 trains which would leave from Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka and Rajasthan among other states over the next few weeks.

The list suggested that three trains -- set to commence their journey from New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore Urban on May 16 -- were scheduled to reach New Coochbehar, Howrah and Malda Town respectively the following day.

The state government's initiative to ferry stranded migrants in trains would continue till June 14.

The home department, in a tweet later on Thursday, said the "government has prepared a comprehensive plan for the movement of more than 100 trains to bring back our stranded people from different states.

Fine-tuning being worked out in consultation with the respective state governments".

According to a senior official of the TMC government, the expenses would be shared between the railways and the state, in accordance with the protocol.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had recently said that the West Bengal government was not allowing trains carrying migrant labourers to reach the state.

In a letter to the chief minister, Shah had said "injustice" was being done to the workers stuck in other states.

State BJP chief Dilip Ghosh had also said on more than one occasion that the TMC government was not doing enough to ferry them home.