Kerala announces exemptions in concurrence with lockdown guidelines issued by Centre

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said that a special non-stop train will commence from New Delhi on May 20 to bring stranded students and others from Kerala, back to the state.

"All arrangements are in place. Steps are also being taken to run special trains from Punjab, Karnataka, Andhra, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa, and Bihar," the chief minister said.

A special train is sanctioned by railways when there are about 1,200 passengers from a state or a particular station. "If required, we will request the railways to provide an additional stop in that State for the convenience of passengers. The state is taking the necessary action in this regard", he added.

Those who wish to travel to Kerala can book the tickets online using the link on the Norka Roots website (registernorkaroots.org). Those booking tickets will be informed by SMS once the train has been decided. The online registration will also be considered as a pass to enter the State.

Chief Minister said that starting today until June 2, 38 flights will be operated to Kerala to bring back the Non-Resident Keralites to the state. There will be eight flights from the UAE, six from Oman, four from Saudi Arabia, and three from Qatar and two from Kuwait.

There will also be one flight each from Bahrain, the Philippines, Malaysia, the UK, the USA, Australia, France, Indonesia, Armenia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Ireland, Italy, Russia, and Singapore. Overall, 6,530 passengers are expected to arrive on these flights.

Meanwhile, 5,815 people have arrived in the State from overseas till now.