Pinarayi Vijayan slams Railways for sending trains ‘without notice’

The CM said the government is of the view that people from all areas should come back to the state but at the same time, strict rules must be adopted to prevent the spread of the disease

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Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. (File Photo)

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said the Railways sending trains to Kerala without prior information would undermine measures taken by the state to contain the spread of Covid-19. He said the issue had been brought to the notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Last week, after the Railways sent a train to Kerala from Mumbai without informing the state government about its stop in Kannur, the Chief Minister had written to Railways Minister Piyush Goyal saying the state must be informed in advance about such trains. “He was told that such a step would dent the steps being taken by the government to spread the disease. But, even after that, the Railways decided to send a train to Kerala from Mumbai. So this issue has been brought to the attention of the Prime Minister. It is a matter undermining our precautions,’’ he said.

The CM said the government is of the view that people from all areas should come back to the state but at the same time, strict rules must be adopted to prevent the spread of the disease.

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“Trains are coming to Kerala from all parts of the country and there are no restrictions. Our only condition is that there should be prior intimation from the Railways. They should give us the list of passengers who have booked tickets. In the same way, it is important and compulsory for passengers to register on the Covid Jagratha portal before the journey. We will be prepared to receive the passengers. Those who arrive here are screened at the railway station and sent to home quarantine. But we need to have the list in advance so that we can ensure there is a proper facility for home quarantine. Any failure to do so would undermine the measures taken by the government… thereby prevent the spread of the disease,’’ he said.

Kerala govt to ramp up testing

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala government has decided to step up daily testing as Covid-19 number has seen an upward swing with the arrival of people from abroad and hotspot states. Till two weeks ago, Kerala has been testing 700-800 samples a day. The state on Tuesday reported 67 new cases, the largest single-day rise so far, taking the total to 963. The number of active cases rose to 415 on Tuesday from 16 on May 8, a day after evacuation flights began landing in Kerala. Since then, the Covid-19 curve in Kerala has been going up. —ENS

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