Railways plans to deploy 40 coaches for Covid care in state

BATHINDA : Under an emergency plan, the Railways has proposed to depute at least 40 coaches for Covid care at four different locations in Punjab.

Each coach will have 16 beds equipped with basic amenities that a patient would require — handheld showers, mosquito nets, toilets, power sockets, oxygen cylinders and more.

Sources said the number of Covid coaches may be enhanced as per medical requirements.

The health ministry has a SOP for deploying such coaches. “The coaches can be used for very mild cases that can be clinically assigned to the Covid care centres as per guidelines issued by the health ministry,” said Ambala divisional railway manager (DRM) GM Singh.

Sources said the state public works department (PWD) had approached the railways on Friday about a plan to strengthen medical infrastructure amid a sharp surge in Covid-19 cases.

Officials said the PWD wanted mobile care facilities at Bathinda, Ludhiana, Patiala, Mohali, Amritsar and Jalandhar. Railway authorities said no coach converted for Covid patients was used last year in Punjab.

As the infection rate is grim in the second wave, intensive plans are being worked out to house the patients with Covid symptoms, say officials.

However, the railway authorities stated that the deployment of special coaches is not possible at Ambala and Patiala.

Pvt operators may pull buses off road

AMRITSAR: Having lost women passengers due to government’s free ride scheme in state-run buses, capping the passenger capacity at 50% has pushed the private operators to the brink and they are contemplating shut operations. Due to the free ride facility, the women prefer to board government buses.

“We are already facing loss due to the facility provided by the government to women in government buses. As per the fresh order of the government of limiting the number of passengers in buses, a normal bus cannot ferry more than 25 passengers. In such a situation, we earn less than what the ride costs,” said Choudhary Ashok Manan, who runs a small transport company.

Baldev Singh Babbu, president, Punjab Mini-Bus Operators Union, said, “Sunday lockdown also affects us a lot. We are not able to give salaries to our employees. How can we tackle the situation?”