Mamata declares 105 trains for migrants; Centre says more needed

KOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who has faced flak for going slow on the return of migrant workers, on Thursday announced her government has arranged 105 trains to bring them home over the next month even as railway minister Piyush Goyal said the state needed as many trains daily.

“I am pleased to announce that we have arranged 105 additional special trains,” she tweeted and shared details of their schedule.

Goyal responded to Banerjee’s tweet hours later. “I feel sad that while there is a need for 105 trains/day to bring back migrants to WB, the state is accepting only 105 trains over 30 days. I once again hope for the sake of Bengali brothers and sisters in different parts of the country that WB will accept them back with open arms,” he tweeted.

“Many migrants want to return to WB & if the state does not accept them, we may find more cases of migrants & even children walking for hundreds of kms & resorting to other dangerous means. WB should speed up setting up of adequate arrangements to receive their own migrants.”

In response, to Goyal’s tweets TMC national spokesperson Derek O’Brien said : “The railway minister has been all but absent during this monumental crisis when millions of poor migrant workers have been abandoned. They’ve been left to fend for themselves, waiting for help from government. These people could

› have been moved in a matter of days.” form]

I hope for the sake of Bengali brothers and sisters in different parts of the country WB will accept them back with open arms

PIYUSH GOYAL, railway minister