With prohibitory orders in force resulting in suspension of bus services and restricted movements of vehicles, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) has come to the aid of field-level health department staff working in government hospitals in Tiruchi and Ariyalur by operating special services exclusively for them.
The services were being operated as per the request from the Health Department and on the orders of the District Collector.
The special services were being operated daily in the morning and in the evening to transport para-medical staff and health assistants to the Mahatma Gandhi Government Hospital at Tiruchi from various destinations and to take the staff back to the respective places in the evening.
The services were being operated from Thuraiyur, Pettavaithalai, Lalgudi and Manapparai in Tiruchi district, Sengipatti in Thanjavur district and Viralimalai in Pudukottai district to the Mahatma Gandhi Government Hospital where isolation wards in the wake of COVID-19 have been established.
The exclusive services were being operated for the benefit of nurses, health assistants, lab technicians and administrative staff who come from different places to the Mahatma Gandhi Government Hospital at Tiruchi since there was no other way to reach their work place in the wake of the present lockdown period due to COVID-19 spread, a senior TNSTC official told The Hindu .
The buses were also being made use of by some doctors during the lockdown period, the official added.
Limited number of drivers of the transport corporation have been engaged, the official further said adding a couple of such special services were being operated in Ariyalur district including one from Sendurai to the Ariyalur Government Hospital.
The TNSTC has also been executing the task of spraying disinfectants as a precautionary measure to check the spread of COVID-19 in all its 13 depots functioning in Tiruchi, Perambalur and Ariyalur districts.
Disinfectants were being sprayed in the buses before taking the health department staff to their work place and after dropping them when the vehicle comes to the respective depot.
The Transport Corporation staff in Tiruchi region have been provided with masks and wash basins have been kept at every depot.
