New Delhi: Politics has been intensified over the fare charged by the railways to deliver people trapped in a nationwide lockdown implemented to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection, and now the Ministry of Health has given a clarification that the Government of India has never talked about charging the train fare from the laborers.

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Addressing his daily joint press conference with the Union Home Ministry, Luv Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health said that special trains have been allowed to run for the stranded people on the request of the states. There has never been any talk of collecting train fare from laborers on behalf of the Government of India.

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Luv Aggarwal further said that 85% fare will be borne by the state government and 15% fare by the state government for the delivery of migrant people. Earlier, special trains have been run in the name of Shramik Train to return home to the migrant workers trapped in lockdown, for which there has been a whole controversy over the collection of rent from passengers. Many opposition parties, including the Congress, have attacked the Modi government at the Center fiercely on the matter of taking rent from the workers.

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