The Maharashtra government on Sunday announced that it will pay the railway fare of the Shramik Special trains for all migrant workers who do not have the ability to pay for their ticket back home.
The government said it will be paying for the tickets using money from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
The State government will assist both — workers stuck in Maharashtra who wish to go back to their home in other States and workers from the State who are stuck elsewhere and trying to come back home. The government said it will do so only for the special trains, until May 17.
The government will be transferring the amount required to pay for such tickets to the accounts of district collectors to aid migrant workers who are unable to buy their ticket home. It has also instructed the collectors to create a list of such workers in their district and pay for their tickets from the CM’s Relief Fund.
For workers from the Maharashtra stuck in other States, the government will obtain a list from various district collectors and transfer the amount into their accounts to aid those who cannot pay for their tickets.
Migrant workers travelling back home had to pay for their tickets, the cost of which varied depending on the length of the journey. For instance, passengers on the train from Mumbai to Basti in U.P., which ran on Friday had to pay around ₹685 for their journey.
Earlier in the day, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal announced that 300 Shramik Special trains will run across the country every day.
