Piyush Goyal said his ministry would work overnight if it received a list of trains, passengers and destinations within one hour from Maharashtra CM
MUMBAI| On Sunday the Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal engaged in a twitter spat. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said his ministry would work overnight if it received a list of trains, passengers and destinations within one hour from Maharashtra Chief Minister. After CM of Maharashtra alleges that he had got only half the trains he had asked for.
Railway Miniter Piyush Goyal continued twitting till 2.11 AM. Mr Goyal tweeted, “Where is the list for 125 trains from Maharashtra? As of 2 am, received a list of only 46 trains of which five are to West Bengal and Odisha which cannot operate due to cyclone Amphan. We are notifying only 41 trains for today despite being prepared for 125!!!”
More than 2.5 hours have passed but still passenger details for 125 planned trains in Maharashtra not received by GM Central Railway from Government of Maharashtra. pic.twitter.com/A4CXFpxKCZ
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) May 24, 2020
It all started when Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray while addressing the state on Sunday said he had demanded 80 migrant special trains a day but was getting only 40. Thackeray also added Rs. 85 crore for the trains till now.
Mr Goyal retorted in a dozen tweets over the next few hours. He said the Railways Ministry was ready to send as many trains as required to states, provided they do not “return empty”.
The railway minister tweeted, “I hope that these trains will not have to leave empty after arriving at the station as it has happened earlier. I would like to assure you that the trains you need will be available,” referring to instances of migrants in Maharashtra not taking the trains and setting out for their home states on foot or in trucks.
Mr Goyal tweeted, “We are ready to provide 125 Shramik Special trains to Maharashtra. Since you have said that you have a list ready that is why I am requesting you to please provide all information like from where the train will run, the list of passengers according to the trains, their medical certificate and where the train is to go, to the General Manager of Central Railway within the next hour, so that we can plan the time of trains.”
Sadly, it has been 1.5 hours but Maharashtra Govt. has been unable to give required information about tomorrow's planned 125 trains to GM of Central Railway. Planning takes time & we do not want train to stand empty at the stations, so it's impossible to plan without full details
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) May 24, 2020
After some time goyal again tweeted, “Sadly, it has been 1.5 hours but Maharashtra Govt. has been unable to give required information about tomorrow’s planned 125 trains to GM of Central Railway. Planning takes time and we do not want the train to stand empty at the stations, so it’s impossible to plan without full details.”
Mr Goyal further added, “I hope that the Government of Maharashtra will fully cooperate in the efforts made for the benefit of migrant labourers.”
The Maharashtra government alleges that the railways have not responded to its request for local train services in Mumbai for essential services staff. The state government has been using buses to transport those working in essential services and plans to use buses to facilitate flights and train services.
The centre-state feud has peaked over trains for migrants stranded by the coronavirus lockdown and desperate to go home. The ruling BJP accuses opposition-ruled states of not allowing these trains.
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