M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Dec 30: Trains that pass through Palamu and go to Dhanbad in Jharkhand are a major issue of concern regarding the spread of Covid.
Sources said passengers coming from other parts of the country prefer to reach Dhanbad for further onward journeys in Jharkhand.
There is one pair of Howrah-Jabalpur express trains that come through Dhanbad to Daltonganj. It goes to Dhanbad from Daltonganj in the day and comes back at night daily.
Besides this, there are three more trains which run weekly.
Station Superintendent of Daltonganj railway station Anil Kumar Tiwary said that these three weekly trains (Up and Down) have a stopover at the Daltonganj railway station at night only.
Passengers, who come in great numbers by these trains, escape health safety measures like Covid testing just because the trains reach here at night and there is no one around to tap these passengers for the Covid testing.
DC Palamu Shashi Ranjan said that he has asked the health teams to start testing at the railway station. He said he would see it get started soon. He has appealed to everyone to wear masks.
Meanwhile, civil surgeon Palamu Dr Anil Kumar said with four more cases of Covid, today the total number of Covid positive cases in Palamu has shot to 7.
The adjoining district Garhwa is as of now has zero Covid cases.
In-charge civil surgeon Garhwa Dr Kamlesh Kumar said “We have not a single Covid positive case in Garhwa but you never know what comes next.”
District epidemiologist Dr Anup Kumar Singh said till date 67 passengers from abroad have arrived from countries namely UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Netherlands, Mauritius, and Bulgaria. But all these 67 passengers are fit and fine.
