Core activities at the Golden Rock Railway Workshop here resumed after a gap over 40 days following permission granted by the district administration to operate.
In line with the directive issued, various shops within the sprawling workshop began to function with 33% attendance.
Employees who reported for duty on Thursday were checked using thermal scanners at all the entry gates of the workshop and were given hand sanitisers and masks.
Workshop authorities told The Hindu on Thursday that a little over 1,200 employees below the age of 55 years and mostly residing within the city limits reported for work. Those employees residing within the containment zones have been advised to stay at home as a precautionary measure in the wake of spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
Safety kits containing a couple of masks and a bottle of hand sanitiser were provided to every employee engaged in various shops and offices. The workshop has put in place 33 pedal operated hand washing units at various spots to enable employees to frequently wash their hands with water and sanitiser.
The authorities said personal distancing was maintained by the employees at their respective work spots. Instruction has been given to disinfect the premises and vehicles twice daily besides disinfecting the toilets every hour during the period of work. The workshop would function from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m in single shift.
Chief Workshop Manager Shyamadhar Ram inspected all the shops inside the workshop premises to ensure that the prescribed norms were being followed. The workshop which has been categorised as a large industry and with a total number of employees exceeding 4,000 carries out periodic overhaul of broad gauge diesel locomotives and passenger coaches.
A few days ago, administrative work resumed at the over 80-year-old workshop with restricted staff.
During the lockdown period, the workshop with skeletal staff had manufactured mild steel cots for railway hospitals, converted over 100 passenger coaches into quarantine/ isolation coaches, made pedal operated hand washing units and personal protective equipment for use by railway doctors and para-medical staff.
