South Central Railway (SCR) is going to put at least 90 of its staff including ticket checking personnel, cleaning staff, catering and other staff, who had serviced the six express trains on which people returned from Nizamuddin in Delhi to Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam, in quarantine for two weeks.
Top SCR officials were shaken up when the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments sought passengers details on the trains from New Delhi/Hazarth Nizamuddin and Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam between March 13-15 by which people returned from the Tabligi Jamaat congregation.
“We have given details of passengers to both the governments to trace them. It has come to our notice that most of the returnees had travelled by AP Express, Telangana Express, Tamil Nadu Express, GT Express, AP Sampark Kranthi and Duronto Express,” informed railway officials. Although it has been nearly two weeks since the journey, they don’t want to take any chances and are checking on the staff, 15 in each of the trains, for any COVID-19 symptoms in the last fortnight.
“The quarantine period has already passed and so far we have not received any adverse information. However, we will put them in quarantine, if necessary, in our official accommodation or respective homes for sometime and test them,” said senior officials, when contacted.
Incidentally, SCR had put 14 railway staff like ticket checking inspectors, catering, electrical and sanitation staff, who had travelled in the AP Sampark Kranthi Express from Hazrath Nizamuddin to Ramagundam/Tirupathi last month, for two weeks of quarantime. About 10 Indonesian preachers had travelled in the sleeper class up to Ramagundam and all of them had tested positive for COVID-19.
