India
‘Anti poor’ BJP earning money amid COVID outbreak, says Rahul Gandhi
Srinagar: A day after Railways Ministry of India said that it earned Rs 429.90 Crore revenue through the fares of its Shramik Special trains, the opposition leader and former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, lashed out at “anti-poor government” Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) for earning a “profit” amid the ongoing COVID scare.
Rahul’s tweet came after the country’s railways ministry said the Indian Railways generated Rs 429.90 Crore revenue through fares collected for Shramik Special trains till July 9.
“There are ‘clouds’ of the disease, people are in trouble, one can make benefits – the anti-poor government is earning by turning a disaster into profit,” Rahul tweeted in Hindi.
He also attached a report about the railways’ revenue along with his tweet.
The Indian Railways earned Rs 429.90 crore revenue through the fares of its Shramik Special trains till July 9, data shared by the railway ministry shows.
The national carrier received the highest revenue of Rs 102 crore from Gujarat followed by Maharashtra ( Rs 85 crore) and Tamil Nadu (Rs 34 crore ).
According to the Railways Board Chairman V.K. Yadav, the Indian Railways operated a total of 4,165 Shramik Special trains to transport stranded migrant workers from May 1 to 9 and ferried over 63 lakh people amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Addressing a virtual press conference, Yadav said the Railways operated the last Shramik Special train on July, 9, and all existing demand for such trains was fully met. The Indian Railways started to operate Shramik Special trains from May 1 to transport stranded migrant workers, students, pilgrims and tourists to their native states.
The railways has suspended passenger, mail and express train services from March 25 amid the nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of COVID and set subsidised ticket prices for migrant workers.
“The last Shramik Special train ran on July 9. And with that we presume that we have met the demand of the states regarding these trains. However, if there is more such demand, we will run these services again instantly,” the Chairman said during the virtual meeting.
He also cited that out of the 5,231 COVID isolation coaches, the national transporter has stationed 813 coaches with over 12,473 bed facilities at several stations across the country. He said in Delhi, 503 isolation ward coaches have been stationed with 270 in Uttar Pradesh and 40 in Bihar.
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