Railways readies boats, drones for monsoon war

In the past two years, NDRF at times had to be roped in to rescue train passengers. File/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

As the Coronavirus outbreak continues to remain the prime focus on everyone, the railways has quietly stepped up efforts to ensure smooth movement of trains in the city during the monsoon. It has arranged for 20,000 metres of nylon rope, 199 walkie-talkies, 275 luminous jackets, 45 loud hailers and 20,000 metres of fluorescent tape apart from a battery of mechanised boats and drones to tackle rain-related challenges this year.

Officials said they cannot leave any chances especially after two consecutive years of incidents where passengers stranded on trains had to be rescued with the help of the National Disaster Response Force in Mumbai. "We have a back-up plan and will be in complete readiness by May 31. Trains have been checked, station roofs sealed, track magnets and machines water-proofed and an emergency response plan is in place to rescue commuters," a senior official said.

While the Central Railway will procure five boats, the Western Railway has already got one and is waiting for seven more. Both zonal railways will also procure 80 life jackets each. The equipment is expected to arrive by May-end.

"Drones will be deployed over the railway network to assess real-time position of water level to take decisions on train movement so that they do not get stranded mid-way. Last time, a few local trains got submerged in a carshed. This time, tracks inside the carshed have been raised up to safe levels," the official added.

Negative report must for passengers to WB

For the next 14 days, West Bengal has made it mandatory for long-distance train passengers arriving from other states and union territories to carry a negative RT-PCR report for a test conducted within 72 hours of train departure. All passengers will have to self-monitor their health for the next seven days after reaching Bengal. They have been told to visit the nearest health facility or call the state's Covid-19 helpline if they develop fever, cough, cold or breathlessness. Passengers found symptomatic during screening will be taken for testing. If found positive, they will be put up in a Covid-19 care centre.

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No. of boats to be given to Western Railway