‘Exploring River Nila’, “Shramik Special”, Resumption of Railway Services
1. MISSION SAGAR
- As part of the Government of India outreach amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Indian Naval Ship Kesari has departed for Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros, to provide Food Items, COVID related Medicines including HCQ Tablets and Special Ayurvedic Medicines with Medical Assistance Teams embarked, on 10 May 20.
- This deployment as ‘Mission Sagar’, is in line with India’s role as the first responder in the region and builds on the excellent relations existing between these countries to battle the COVID-19 pandemic and its resultant difficulties.
The operation is being progressed in close coordination with the Ministries of Defence and External Affairs, and other agencies of the Government of India.
2. Resumption of Indian Railway Services
- Indian Railways plans to gradually restart passenger train operations from 12th May, 2020, initially with 15 pairs of trains (30 return journeys).
- These trains will be run as special trains from New Delhi Station connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.
- Booking for reservation in these trains will start at 4 pm on 11th May and will be available only on the IRCTC website (https://www.irctc.co.in/).
- Ticket booking counters at the railway stations shall remain closed and no counter tickets (including platform tickets) shall be issued.
- Only passengers with valid confirmed tickets will be allowed to enter the railway stations.
- It will be mandatory for the passengers to wear face cover and undergo screening at departure and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the train. Further details including train schedule will be issued separately in due course.
- Movement of passengers to & fro and entry at the railway station would be permitted only on confirmed e-ticket.
- During the travel and at the railway stations, Strict adherence to Health/hygiene protocols and social distancing.
- All passengers would be provided with hand sanitizer at entry and exit points at station and in coaches.
- On arrival at their destination, the traveling passengers would have to adhere to such health protocols as are prescribed by the destination State/ UT.
- Movement of trains shall be permitted by Ministry of Railways (MoR), in a graded manner, in consultation with Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and MHA.
- Passengers are encouraged to carry their own food and drinking water.
3. "Shramik Special" trains
- As on 10th May 2020, a total of 366 “Shramik Special” trains have been operationalized from various states across the country, in which 287 trains had reached its destination and 79 trains are in transit.
These trains have ferried migrants to cities like Tiruchchirappalli, Titlagarh, Barauni, Khandwa, Jagannathpur, Khurda Road, Prayagraj, Chhapra, Balia, Gaya, Purnia, Varanasi, Darbhanga, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Jaunpur, Hatia, Basti, Katihar, Danapur,Muzzaffarpur, Saharsa etc.
- In these Shramik Special Trains, maximum around 1200 passengers can travel observing social distancing. Proper screening of passengers is ensured before boarding the train. During the journey, passengers are given free meals and water.
Trains being run by Railways only after concurrence is given both by the State which is sending the passengers and the State which is receiving them.
Around 1200 passengers travel in each of these “Shramik Special” trains.
4. 'Exploring River Nila'
- The story ‘Exploring River Nila’ was modelled on showcasing the tenets of responsible tourism that involves finding uniqueness about a place , the people who live in it, and sharing it with the people who come to visit.
- The presenters spoke about local food, festivals, art forms , traditions and also about conserving the nature, landscapes, heritage and community of the places that people travel to .
- The focus of Dekho Apna Desh webinar series is promotion of domestic tourism.
