New Delhi, May 16 (IANS): Emphasising that travelling in trucks is dangerous, Union Railway and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday condoled the deaths of 24 migrant workers in a road accident in Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya. He urged the state governments to give permission to run the Shramik Special trains to avoid such accidents in the future.

In a tweet, Goyal said, "I am shocked at the death of 24 migrant workers in Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya. My condolences to the families of the victims. Our workers are returning home from trucks which is dangerous. I appeal to all the state governments to give permission to operate Shramik Special trains so that such incidents are not repeated."

His remarks came after 24 migrant workers returning to their native place in Bihar died in a road accident near Auraiya on Saturday morning after their truck collided with another truck.

In the last few days the politics over the Shramik Specials has heated up as the Centre has accused several state governments of not giving clearance to the railways to run the special trains to transport the stranded migrant workers.

The railways started to run the Shramik Special trains from May 1. Till date, the national transporter has operated 1,034 Shramik Special trains and transported over 12 lakh people across the country. The Indian Railways has suspended the passenger, mail and express train services from March 25 amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic until further notice.