Railway’s Chakradharpur division ready to resume services after lockdown lift

TNN | Apr 9, 2020, 05:00 IST

Jamshedpur: The Chakradharpur railway division on Wednesday said it has put in place adequate sanitation measures for their staff and passengers and is ready to resume service once the lockdown is lifted. Chakradharpur, Tatanagar, Rourkela, Barbil and Jharsuguda railway stations see a large number of footfall, and these stations will first receive cubicle-shaped sanitization machines followed by others under the division.
Senior divisional manager (commercial) Manish Kumar Pathak said, “Besides sanitization machines, our medical and mechanical department officials are also manufacturing masks, gloves and alcohol-based hand sanitizers for the 50,000-strong workforce, which includes 28,000 contractual workers.”
He added that railway personnel whose nature of job necessitates public contact — such as train ticket examiners, parcel office personnel and booking counter staff — will receive gloves, masks and sanitizers on a priority basis. The division also informed that thermal screening devices are also being procured to screen passengers at the entry and exit gates. “The staff at our parcel department already received masks, gloves and sanitizers, but there is requirement of more,” Pathak said. He added that the division has not yet received a word from South Eastern Railway zone on the resumption of services. “However, preparations are being made keeping April 15 as the tentative date of resumption,” he added.
With over 150 long distance and short distance trains originating and running through the division every day, the authorities said preparations need to be made on a large scale.
A senior TTE at Tatanagar railway station on condition of anonymity said, “Several of my colleagues fear they might get infected if they do not get protective equipment. We shall demand from the division to compulsorily provide us three disposal face masks every day.”