Bihar: Railway staff brave pandemic, serve people

PATNA: At a time when the deadly Covid-19 is taking heavy toll on human lives across the country, about 14,000 employees of Danapur division of the East Central Railway (ECR), particularly the frontline workers, are on their toes to keep the wheels on the tracks in the pandemic.
That, too, when more than 800 employees of the Danapur division, including officials, doctors and paramedical staff, have tested positive and 27 of them succumbed to the deadly virus so far. However, frontline employees like loco pilots, guards, station masters and healthcare staff have not showed their back at this hour of crisis, Danapur divisional railway manager (DRM) Sunil Kumar said.
“Danapur, which is a passenger oriented division, created a record in the railways when it loaded two million tonne goods in the pandemic hit 2020-21 fiscal,” the DRM said.
A separate control room has been set up at Danapur for the Covid-infected railway employees to keep a close watch on their welfare and provide all possible assistance, including monetary and medical care, to them in their fight against the virus,” he said.
The division has also created a sort of record when it effectively dealt with the operations of 400-odd shramik special trains, which brought migrants to Bihar from other states during the lockdown period. To carry out medical screening and giving meals to them was a herculean task, but the employees did with all smiles on their faces, the DRM said, adding about 280 pairs of special passenger trains are either originating from or passing through Danapur division daily.
Amid the Covid-19 surge, employees of the division built a freight terminal at Chakand on the Patna-Gaya line and made other goods sheds functional to transport essential items, the DRM said.