Railways sending trains without prior intimation, alleges Kerala CM

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said that while people wanting to come to the state were welcome, they would need to register on the state government's website in advance and the Indian Railways would be required to inform the authorities about when they were being brought to the state, so that quarantine arrangements could be made in advance.

His comments came after Union Minister of Railways and Commerce Piyush Goyal criticised the state for denying approval to a train from Mumbai to Kerala.

Commenting on the central minister's criticism, Vijayan told reporters on Tuesday that the state government had reiterated its stand that while people were welcome to come back to the state, the state government would need to make arrangements for those coming back, including preparations for quarantining them at home and without which, the situation might get out of hand.
 

"Earlier, a train was sent to Kerala without prior communication. I have sent a letter to the railways minister on this, A letter was also sent to the prime minister, even though it is not necessary to write to the prime minister in such cases. Surprisingly, a day after he (railway minister) received the letter, another train was scheduled from Mumbai without prior information. We were forced to make intervention at the executive level and the train was stopped," said Vijayan.

He added that the way Goyal criticised the State was unfortunate. "It is unfortunate that a person like him cannot comprehend even a fraction of the seriousness of the problem the country is facing. Whether the chief minister is protecting the interest of the state is not something that Piyush Goyal can decide, it has to be decided by the people in the state," he said.

The state's Finance Minister T M Thomas Issac in his Twitter account said that a train came to Kerala from Mumbai last week and the government was intimated only after train started. The train made unscheduled stops and a majority of passengers had no passes. "Anarchy in pandemic times. Railways want to be super spreader in Kerala. Stop ranting and behave responsibly.

At least try to track your trains," he said.

He added that the state's  protocol for returning migrants is that they must register on the web portal. "The local government will examine returnee’s house to determine if quarantine is possible. If not, an institution for quarantine will be identified. A pass is issued according to state's criteria for priority. Respect our norms," he added.
 

The response from the state government comes at a time when Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray accused the railways of not doing enough to take the migrants to their home towns. Piyush Goyal, at 2:11 am on May 25, responded stating that the ministry had received a list of only 46 trains, while there were plans to send 125 trains on the day.
 

Kerala reported 67 new Covid-19 positive cases on Tuesday, one of the highest numbers from the state, taking the total number of Covid-19 positive cases in the State to 963, of which 415 are currently under treatment. Among the new cases, 27 individuals were from other countries, while 33 were from other states. A total of 1,04,336 individuals are under observation, of which 808 are in hospitals. Results of 10 indivduals were reported as negative on Tuesday.