350 infected in Ranchi railway division, 13 dead

RANCHI: The Ranchi railway division of the South Eastern Railways (SER) has been hit hard by the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic. Within the span of three weeks, as many as 350 railway personnel in the division have been infected while 13 have died.
Of all the 13 casualties, three railway men died in the past 24 hours. Among the dead are Tangarbasli station master Subhash Minj and Y D Kindo, a guard at the Hatia railway station.
Among the infected are senior officials, loco pilots, RPF personnel, station masters, signalling personnel, booking clerks, train ticket examiners and operating department personnel. However, despite the setbacks, the division is running with full steam.
“Unlike last year, when we had less than 100 infections, this year’s infectivity rate is very high. Our operations were closed for several months last year, but this time, special and regular trains are operating,” a senior official said requesting anonymity.
Neeraj Ambasth, the divisional railway manager (DRM), contracted Covid-19 along with his family members last week and was moved to a private hospital in the city for oxygen support. The division’s chief commercial manager and head of signalling are the other two senior-most officials who have tested positive.
Recently, the Ranchi chapter of the All India Loco Staff Running Association (AILSRA), the umbrella union of loco pilots of the Indian Railways, demanded adequate hand sanitizers, face masks and rotational duty rosters to minimize the risk of transmission among loco pilots. The AILSRA also wrote to Ambasth on April 17 and pointed out that loco pilots, who are turning up at the divisional railway hospital in Hatia for vaccination, are being turned back.
The hospital came under fire after its doctors initially were reluctant to admit Covid-19 patients from the division. However, with cases rising, the hospital has been converted into a 40-bed Covid facility with oxygen support. However, three of the hospital’s doctors have tested positive.