Scores of migrant labourers, hoping to catch a train home, assembled at Mumbai’s CSMT terminal on the afternoon of May 26.
According to an NDTV report, this type of crowding has become a usual affair outside Mumbai’s railway stations. However, most of the migrant workers end up not making it to the train because they have not registered themselves for the special trains which are being operated by the Centre.
Video footages have shown thousands of people waiting with their luggage till late in the evening outside the CSMT terminal.
Earlier on May 19 people were seen gathered outside Mumbai’s Bandra Terminus hoping to return to Bihar. However, the police sent them back. Only those who had registered themselves were allowed to board the train.
Although it is the Mumbai Police which is manning of registration, the state government has pointed fingers toward the Centre for the build-up of the crowd.
‘For the last two days, the railway minister (Piyush Goyal) has been playing politics. He allotted 49 trains to carry migrants from the Lokmanya Tilak Station. But the DRM (Divisional Railway Manager) has been saying that they can’t allow more than 16 trains. Passengers for 49 trains have been waiting at the station,’ Mr Malik said, adding to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s claim that Maharashtra got only half the trains it asked for.
Piyush Goyal responded to the claims made by the Chief Minister in a series of tweets. He stated that his ministry would work overnight if it received details like list of trains, passengers and destinations from CM Thackeray within the hour.
The minister again on May 26 stated that the railways could run only 13 trains till 3 pm, even though it had planned 145, just for lack of passengers.
