JOIN USCovid coaches remain unused
Sixty-one coaches modified by South Western Railways to house Covid-19 patients remain totally unused.
They were meant to be used to isolate asymptomatic patients and those with minor symptoms if beds were not available at the Covid care centres. They were modified and sent to various cities soon after the pandemic broke out last year. Ashok Kumar Verma, divisional railway manager, Bengaluru, says each coach has the capacity to house 16 persons. “It has bathrooms, berths, beds and mosquito nets. Every bay has space to keep an oxygen cylinder. One-time linen is also provided by the railways,” he told Metrolife.
The coaches were converted under an MoU signed by the ministry of railways and the ministry of health. The cost to modify each coach was less than Rs 1 lakh. There are 5,000 such coaches, across the country, converted into isolation spaces.
The investment goes into removing the middle berth, creating extra toilets, and making space for oxygen cylinders.
The MoU says the state government will submit a request to the railways when the need arises, and the coaches will be provided at the nominated stations. From all accounts, the state government has made no request to use the coaches, even when beds were scarce at the hospitals. A senior official with the BBMP, says “We still haven’t asked for the railway coaches because home isolation became the rule and later we had enough hospitals and spaces within the city that were converted to Covid Care Centres. We will use them if the cases get out of control.”
“These coaches are not available for private use. As the state government has already made provisions for a large number of Covid care centres, there was no demand for these coaches. But they are on standby and will be made available as and when the demand arises,” says Verma. The 61 coaches, parked at stations nearby, will arrive at the Yeshwantpur and KSR Bengaluru City Railway Station when called for. “The management of these coaches, in terms of allocating staff, will be done by the state government,” says Verma.
A senior railway police official says the coaches were prepared for emergency use. “The toilets are small and limited in number. Social distancing is not possible in these coaches and it sends a wrong signal to the international community that we cannot build Covid care centers of a certain class and standard,” explains the officer.
Who does what
The state government has to assign doctors and paramedical staff.
The railways will clean the coaches, provide water and power, and replenish chlorine tablets for bio-toilet discharge.
IRCTC provides catering on request, and the Railway Protection Force provides security to the coaches, patients and staff.