Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has asked the zonal railways to be ready to operate special trains to help migrant workers to return to their home towns if such a demand comes from states as more restrictions are being imposed in different parts of the country to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The Minister held a meeting with top railway officials and discussed the railways' preparedness to handle the pandemic situation.
The Minister reviewed the running of special trains in case of emergency or sudden surge in number of passengers or migrants at railway stations, a statement from the railways said.
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In the meeting, the minister also reviewed railway hospital infrastructure, paediatric ward functioning, vaccination of children and staff of Railways, including provisioning of booster dose to frontline workers of railways.
Availability of medicines, oxygen supply, and other necessary medical support and functioning of ventilators, liquid medical oxygen tanks, and availability of other equipment were also reviewed, the statement read.
Of the total sanctioned oxygen plants, 78 have already been commissioned at different railway hospitals and 17 were yet to be commissioned, said the statement.
The Minister also asked officials to ensure that the frequency of announcements at railway stations about masking up, sanitisation of hands and other precautionary measures is increased. He also instructed officials to discourage entry of people without mask at railway stations.
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