Rohit Gharabude
Bangalore: As many as 327 Indian Railway employees throughout India died
during the pandemic while on duty for over two years from 2020 to 2021.
Those who died included Chief Loco Inspectors (CLI), Loco-Pilots (LP), Assistant
Loco-Pilots (ALP), Loco-pilot Passengers (LPP), Loco-pilot Goods (LPG), Loco-
pilot Mail (LPM), Loco-pilot Shunting (LPS), Crew Controller (CC), and
Motormen (MM).
According to sources in Railways, the deaths were largely due to a scarcity of safety
kits against Covid-19.
A senior loco-pilot working in Southwestern Railway Division, who wished to
remain anonymous, said that loco-pilots and assistant loco-pilots had to protest and
demand a sanitization facility. Even when it was provided, the sanitization was not
done correctly. He said, “The sanitizers contained a mixture of soap and water.”
For trains operating in South-Western Railways, train cabins were sanitized only at
stations in Bangalore. At other stations such as Jolarpet or Dharmavaram, there
was no sanitization procedure after the change of crew. The negligence of the
railway department not only put their lives at risk but also put their families at risk
of contracting the deadly virus.
Another loophole was that none of the loco-pilots or assistant loco-pilots were
tested before taking charge of duty. One of the assistant loco-pilots, who wanted to
be anonymous, said, “I was afraid when I used to go home after work. I used to
isolate myself so that my family wouldn’t face any problems. That is because the
railway department failed to follow Covid protocols.”
The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to derail train operations
in the railway network with frontline personnel, including 173 loco-pilots in
Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Bengaluru City Junction (SBC), Yeshwanthpur
Junction (YPR) and Krishnarajapuram Junction (KJM) of Bangalore Railway
divisions, testing positive for the virus. The railway administration was worried
about the train operations since loco pilots were out of the roster due to COVID.
Families of Railway employees who died due to Covid had a harsh time dealing
with the death of their family members as some of them were the main
breadwinner. On May 8, 2021, one employee died due to COVID-19 in the
Bangalore division. According to the rules, one of the members of his family should
have got a job in the Railways. However, that did not happen. No one from the
family got a job as they were ineligible. The children were minors and the wife had
no related educational qualification. They were told to wait till the children grew
to 18 years of age.
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