‘Only those permitted to travel’: India’s Central Railway advises people against thronging to train stations

NEW DELHI, May 2, 2020, DNA. The Central Railway has requested people not to unnecessarily come to railway stations as only the passengers who have been permitted to travel by the state government would be allowed to board trains. This is aimed at discouraging crowds to cut the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in India, which is spreading like wildfire, DNA India reported.

An appeal issued by the CPRO, Central Railway on Friday said, “I request all of you to please clarify to the public that the special trains are being planned for nominated people, identified and registered by state governments. No one under any circumstance should come to Railway station looking for trains.’’

“We will not issue any tickets to any individual or entertain any request from any group or individual. We will allow only those passengers to board whom state govt officials will bring to Railway Stations. The state government is the final authority to decide that who will travel in our trains,’’ the statement said.

It may be recalled that the Central Railway (CR) would be running two special Shramik Express trains from Nashik to Lucknow and Bhopal after the Union government said that stranded migrant labourers would be allowed to return to their home states.

The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in India crossed the 35,000-mark on Friday, while the death toll topped the 1,152-mark as well.

As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak continues to spread like wildfire in India, the central and state governments are respectively amping up all of their efforts to check potential contamination. A nationwide lockdown is in place, which was further extended on May 1 by the Ministry of Home Affairs for two weeks beyond May 3. This is the second extension to the lockdown first announced on March 24 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had declared an extension of the initial nationwide lockdown till May 3 to battle the novel coronavirus.

The MHA on Friday also issued new guidelines to regulate different activities in this period, based on the risk profiling of the districts of the country into red (hotspot), green and orange zones. The guidelines have permitted considerable relaxations in the districts falling in the green and orange zones.

The classification of districts into red, green and orange zones will be shared by MoHFW with the States and Union Territories (UTs) on a weekly basis, or earlier, as required. While States and UTs can include additional districts as red and orange zones, they may not lower the classification of a district included by MoHFW in the list of red or orange zones.

The new guidelines also prescribe certain measures for well being and safety of persons. Hence, movement of individuals, for all non-essential activities, shall remain strictly prohibited between 7 pm to 7 am, the MHA said. Local authorities shall issue orders under appropriate provisions of law, such as prohibitory orders [curfew] under Section 144 of CrPC, for this purpose, and ensure strict compliance, the ministry said.