Administrative works resumed at the Golden Rock Railway Workshop here on Monday after a gap of 40 days when the lockdown was announced in late March to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
The administrative staff numbering over 125 who had reported for duty at the workshop belonged to accounts, stores, mechanical, electrical and personnel sections.
Workshop authorities told The Hindu on Monday that administrative works resumed with 33% staff. It was done by adhering to precautionary measures and directives for COVID-19 management.
However, the core activities at the workshop such as periodic overhaul of broad gauge diesel locomotives and passenger coaches were yet to resume.
Sanitiser was sprayed on the hands of employees by the duty Railway Protection Force personnel deployed at the Armoury Gate as they entered the workshop premises.
The authorities said the administrative works had resumed after 40 days with skeletal strength.
The staff were subjected to thermal scanning before entering their respective offices.
Personal distancing was maintained at the workshop as a precautionary measure in the wake of spread of COVID-19, the authorities said. Though all activities at the workshop were suspended since March 24 , some skeletal staff was deployed to carry out urgent works as directed by the Railway Board, New Delhi, such as converting passenger coaches into quarantine / isolation coaches, manufacture of cots for railway hospitals and making of Personal Protective Equipment.
The workshop had recently converted over 100 passenger coaches into quarantine coaches besides making 33 pedal operated hand washing units for its internal use.
The authorities said the workshop had so far manufactured over 900 Personal Protective Equipment for railway doctors, 10,000 masks and about 400 litres of hand sanitiser for internal requirements.
Prior to lockdown, the workshop with a workforce of around 4,000 had been carrying out periodic overhaul of over 1,000 broad gauge passenger coaches and more than 100 broad gauge diesel locomotives in a year.
Railway sources said a section of administrative staff of different departments such as accounts, general administration, engineering, traffic, electrical, signal, operating and commercial had reported for duty at the Divisional Railway Manager’s office here.
Only one third of staff had reported for duty on Monday, a senior railway official said.
However, those involved in train operations had been working even during the lockdown period with skeletal strength in Tiruchi Railway Division due to operation of freight and special parcel trains.
Personnel of the Railway Protection Force had also been working guarding the railway stations and property belonging to the railways.
Meanwhile, construction works were underway at the new integrated passenger terminal building at Tiruchi airport.
A senior Airports Authority of India official said the works were on by ensuring all norms to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Ration items were supplied on Monday to over 600 labourers who were residing near the work site.
