COVID-19: Passengers of spl trains from Mumbai, Pune screened

Two special trains carrying passengers from Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra arrived at Howrah station on Sunday, Railway sources said.

The medical officers of the state government examined the passengers who disembarked at both Howrah and Kharagpur railway stations, they said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Saturday alleged that the Railways was not ensuring proper screening of passengers entering the state through long-distance trains.

She claimed that migrant workers from the state, particularly those in Maharashtra, were being packed off in trains and sent back without medical checkups.

The special train from Mumbai arrived at the New Complex of Howrah station at 7.22 am following which 1,000 passengers were cordoned off by RPF and GRP personnel and examined by the medical officers, the sources said.

Another special train carrying passengers from Pune arrived at Howrah at 6.25 pm.

The medical officers also examined the passengers who disembarked at Kharagpur railway station, the sources said.

Apart from the special trains, passengers of all long- distance trains arriving at Howrah in the South Eastern Railway jurisdiction on Sunday were being screened for any signs of fever, cough, they said.

The Indian Railways on Sunday announced the cancellation of all passenger train services in the country till March 31 to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.