Trying time for staff at local rly stations

There is no way to determine the health status of those entering the station for local travel—a man entered Borivli station, his ID was checked and he proceeded to Platform No. 3, only to suddenly complain of breathlessness, sparking all-round panic

Here is an instance that depicts the vulnerability of frontline workers such as the railway staff on duty at stations, checking lakhs of passengers, day in and day out. On Sunday afternoon, a man entered the Borivli station premises and the authorities checked his ID card and allowed him to proceed. That was the simplest part of the story. What happened next was breathtaking, for the railway employees, the unions and the administration and gave them cause for pause.

Around 12.15pm, the man had entered the suburban railway station of

Borivli west, leading to platform 3. Sources said that after checking his ID card and other credentials, he was allowed to enter the platform, but shortly after that, he complained of breathlessness. “The railway police staff standing at the entrance came to his aid and held him firmly,” said sources in Western Railway.

He was then taken to a bench by a tree on the platform and asked to lie down. Sources said that later, the civic team subjecting long-distance passengers to Rapid Antigen Tests went to the location where the man was resting and the man tested positive.

“Around 12.45pm, an ambulance arrived and he was taken to the hospital,” said the WR official. By this time, the air grew thick with anxiety. As a precautionary measure, the railway staff immediately cordoned off the area and embarked on sanitising the platform, the seating area and the station entrance.