In tune with the pro-active approach of the Ministry of Railways to combat the spread of Coronavirus, South Central Railway has further braced up to initiate various measures in the direction, keeping the interests of rail users foremost. Shri Gajanan Mallya, General Manager, SCR has been personally directing the operations, reviewing the implementation and drawing further plans, basing on the needs.
In this direction, a meeting has been convened by the General Manager with all Principal heads of the department, Medical Officers and advised to take precautionary measures to restrict the spread of Novel Coronavirus.
In addition, a training session has been conducted through video conference for all the medical officials of the Zone from Railway Board in coordination with Ministry of Health, Government of India with regard to handling of corona virus cases. In continuation to the same, quarantine facilities have been set up with 1019 beds at 27 locations across all the six divisions of the zone i.e., Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Nanded, Guntur, Guntakal and Vijayawada. Railway medical officials are in regular touch with State Government Health & Medical authorities to maintain coordination and handle the situation to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Apart from that, various micro-level initiatives have been put to implementation. These include –
* Comprehensive cleaning of coaches including the toilets and pantry cars along with proper disinfection at prescribed frequencies.
* Ensuring the availability of liquid soaps and water in toilets of coaches and pantry cars.
* On Board House Keeping (OBHS) staff have been instructed to take up regular and proper cleaning coach interiors including coach doors, door latches, taps and door handles etc., which are areas of frequent touch by the passengers.
* Full watering of trains is being ensured at stations earmarked for the purpose.
* Regular and frequent cleaning of station premises including waiting halls, seating arrangements, grab rails, hand rests, toilets, water troughs and any other areas which are susceptible to spread of the virus.
*At Secunderabad, Vijayawada, Renigunta and Guntakal which are designated as Clean Train Stations (CTS), cleaning of coaches for the trains passing through is being ensured.
* All curtains have been removed from AC coaches with immediate effect.
* Minimum temperature in AC coaches is being set around 25 °C.
* Issue of blankets shall be stopped in all AC 2 tier and 3 tier coaches with immediate effect. However, some washed blankets shall be kept to meet any kind of emergency like old aged persons, patients etc.
* For passengers traveling in First AC, blankets with freshly washed covers will be provided on demand.
* Some additional bed sheets (White Linen) will be kept for exigencies.
* To ensure more awareness and cooperation from the rail users, extensive publicity is being undertaken continuously, utilizing the Print, Electronic and Social media.
* In addition, banners & posters are in place at conspicuous locations regarding precautions to be taken to avoid spread of coronavirus.
* Apart from this, the zone has geared up to utilize its all possible resources to educate the passengers about the Novel coronavirus and the steps being taken by Railways in the form of SMS, Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) and announcement through Public Address system at railway stations.
All the railway users are requested to be vigilant about the spread of Novel coronavirus and take necessary precautions while commencing their journey to avoid further repercussions.
(Ch. Rakesh, Chief Public Relations Officer South Central Railway)