Maharashtra asks Railways to allow teachers to travel in local trains

The Maharashtra government has

asked the Railways to allow teachers and non-teaching staff of schools to board suburban trains in Mumbai which are currently allowed to the people working in essential sectors.

In a tweet, state education minister Varsha Gaikwad on Wednesday said the government has allowed teachers and other staff to travel by local trains and sent a copy of the letter to the Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR).

"You are requested to direct the concerned school teachers and non-teaching staff to use services of local trains in Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) with the immediate effect," stated the letter dated November 6, a copy of which was tweeted by the minister on Wednesday.

The letter was addressed to the General Managers of the CR and the WR by Kishore Raje Nimbalkar, Secretary, Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation.

The Maharashtra School Education department recently released a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) ahead of the reopening of schools in the state from November 23. Schools will reopen only for classes IX to XII.