Northeast Frontier Railway Takes Measures against Pandemic Coronavirus

Guwahati, March 15, 2020:

The Northeast Frontier (NFR) Railway in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus health crisis in the region has withdrawn the provision of blankets and curtains in the air-conditioned coaches of all trains that are operating to and from the different railway stations.

Special emphasis has been laid on the frequent disinfection of coaches in coaching depots under all the five divisions of NFR - Tinsukia, Lumding, Rangiya, Alipurduar and Katihar Sanitation of all critical areas of the coaches are reportedly being done after the rake is released from Pit examination and washing. The Indian Railways have assigned dedicated teams to carry out this task.

A drive is also on since last week to raise awareness on coronavirus (COVID-19) among passengers and people in general in the local languages. Announcements in local languages have also been made through Public Address system in all the stations. Videos showing the precautions to be taken are being played at stations where such facilities are available.

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Apart from NFR Railways, the other zones have also decided to immediately withdraw blankets and curtains provided in the AC coaches from service till further orders. Only the bed sheets, pillow covers and hand towels will be given.

However, blankets will be kept with attendants and to be given to passengers only on demand. Passengers can bring their own blankets for their journey as it will be in their own interest due to the coronavirus outbreak. Additional bed sheets are being kept in AC coaches for any exigencies. Temperature inside AC coaches will be adjusted suitably as per requirement.

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The novel virus has claimed as many as 5,839 lives worldwide, and 74,970 people are currently affected. 5,652 (8%) are said to be in serious/critical condition. Total cases currently is 156,745. Recovered cases stand at 75,936.

Assam has prohibited mass gatherings, shut down movie halls, gyms, swimming pools, postponed exams and suspended visas as a precautionary measure against the health crisis. Northeast States have also closed borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh barring a few Integrated Checkpoints

Countries like Italy and Spain have taken extreme precautions of locking down the entire country to contain the spread of the virus. While Italy had imposed a complete lockdown, Spain on Saturday evening declared ’emergency’ urging its people to stay home until two weeks. Spain has recently seen a massive outbreak of the COVID-19.

The US has also declared national emergency. All the major sports activities have been postponed across the globe. In India, Indian Premier League has been postponed with a view to put ‘safety first’ over the rest. Mass gatherings, shopping malls, gyms, etc. have also been ordered to remain shut in many States of India.

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Meanwhile, India has crossed the century mark as far as COVID-19 cases are concerned, reports have confirmed. Maharashtra has recorded the most number of cases, at 31. It has now become a ‘hot zone’ for the virus, with the leap in its infection count from 19 to 31 in a day making it the state with the most number of cases; Kerala, meanwhile, has recorded 22 cases. The number of deaths from the virus has now touched two in India.

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