Railways bid to contain spread of Covid-19 in Bihar

PATNA: Amid an alarming spike in the cases of Covid-19, railways has initiated various steps to contain the spread of the deadly virus.
A dedicated team of railway safety officials and para-medical staff have been assigned the task to keep a tab on the measures being taken by railways to check spread of the deadly virus in and around the premises of railway offices, stations and railway colony areas in Danapur division of the East Central Railway (ECR) .
According to Danapur divisional railway manager (DRM) Sunil Kumar, railways has started conducting Covid-19 tests on railway employees and their family members on priority basis at the railway hospital.
“Based on a survey conducted by the railway scouts and guides, railway employees and their family members are being motivated to visit the railway hospital either for tests or get Covid-19 vaccine shots,” he said adding, “The division has more than 14,000 employees working at different places.”
Those railway employees who have tested positive, have been isolated at their homes while several others who tested positive for Covid-19 are undergoing treatment at the Covid-dedicated Danapur railway hospital. Railway has set up a helpline number for the employees so that they can get in touch with the officials concerned to get instant assistance, the DRM said.
The railways has also installed auto contactless sanitizer booths at each crew changing lobby of loco pilots and guards as a precautionary measure in the division. Aarogya Setu app and facemask are now compulsory for railway staff while entering offices or station premises, he said adding, “Frontline railway staff are being counselled everyday before they sign in on duty to follow Covid-19 health protocols at any cost.”
Meanwhile, the railways decision to cancel 23 pairs of MEMU/DEMU special passenger trains from April 29 has drawn a flak from the Bihar Daily passengers’ Association .
The association secretary Shoaib Quraishi said that while railways had increased number of special mail and express passenger trains to cope with passengers’ rush, it withdrew services of such a large number of local passenger trains in the name of poor occupancy as well as sudden increase in the cases of Covid-19 pandemic in Bihar .