The chances of Keralites held up in various States returning home have brightened with Railways agreeing to operate trains from eight States.
The Island Express from Bengaluru will be the first train to operate from Karnataka to bring back Keralites.
Non-stop trains
Railways will operate it as a daily, non-air-conditioned train, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.
The State has sought the permission of Railways to operate non-stop trains from Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru to facilitate the return of Keralites.
The Island Express will have to be operated daily for two to three weeks as there are 30,000 Keralites stranded in Bengaluru, a railway official said. The train will have limited stops most probably at Palakkad, Ernakulam, and Thiruvananthapuram. Railways and the State are against operating trains from hotspot areas as it would hinter virus containment efforts.
From Punjab
The Chief Minister said the possibility of bringing back stranded students in Delhi in non-air-conditioned trains is being looked into. The help desk in Kerala House had been asked to coordinate.
Nurses in Israel
Kerala had also acceded to the request of the Punjab government to operate a train from Jalandhar to Ernakulam to bring back 1,005 Keralites.
The government was in touch with the Union government to bring back 82 nurses in Israel whose visa had expired, the Chief Minister said.
Shramik Specials
To expedite the return of the migrant labourers stranded in Kerala, eight States have granted permission to operate Shramik Specials.
As many as 28 trains will be operated from May 18 to June 14 to enable the return of the migrant labourers from here to West Bengal.
