Seniors, pregnant women, kids must avoid travel on Shramik trains, says Indian Railways

In view of the rising number of deaths reported on the Shramik special trains, the Indian Railways on Friday appealed to citizens above 65 years of age, pregnant women or children below 10 years of age, and citizens with co-morbidities (diabetes, hypertension, etc) not to travel on these trains.

This comes after the deaths of at least nine passengers on May 27 on these trains. “It has been observed that some people who are availing this service have pre-existing medical conditions, which aggravate the risk they face during the Covid-19 pandemic. A few cases of deaths related to pre-existing medical conditions have happened while travelling," said the ministry of railways in a release.

“In order to protect vulnerable persons from Covid-19, Ministry of Railways makes an appeal that persons with comorbidities (for example - hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, immune deficiency conditions), pregnant women, children below the age of 10 years and persons above 65 years of age may avoid travel by rail, except when it is essential,” it added.

“The safety of our passengers is our biggest concern. In case of any distress or emergency please do not hesitate to reach out to your railway parivaar and we will help you as always (Helpline number - 139 & 138),” said Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer (CPRO), Central Railway. Ravinder Bhakar, CPRO, Western Railway, said, “We are also appealing to passengers to travel only in an emergency.”

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from Free Press Journal https://ift.tt/2yQtyvC