Delhi government requests Indian Railways to deploy COVID-19 care coaches at two stations; details

The Delhi government has urged Indian Railways to arrange up to 5,000 beds by deploying COVID-19 care coaches at the Shakur Basti railway station and Anand Vihar railway station.

COVID-19 second wave: The Delhi government has urged Piyush Goyal-led Indian Railways to arrange up to 5,000 beds by deploying COVID-19 care coaches at the Shakur Basti railway station and Anand Vihar railway station in Delhi, in view of the rising number of novel coronavirus cases in the national capital, according to a PTI report. In a letter to the Chairman of Railway Board Suneet Sharma, Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Dev said in the recent past, there has been a tremendous increase in novel coronavirus cases in Delhi, resulting in a high number of serious cases requiring medical treatment in hospitals.

As of now, in the GNCTD, the facilities at government hospitals as well as private hospitals available are getting strained and there is an urgent requirement for more number of COVID-19 bed facilities in order to cope up with the ever increasing demand of COVID-19 positive patients who require admissions in hospitals, he said. He, therefore, requested the Railway Board to arrange COVID-19 bed facilities at Anand Vihar railway station and Shakur Basti railway station with full logistical support, oxygen facilities, requisite medical as well as paramedical staff gen facilities etc. on an emergent basis.

Further, in the letter dated April 17, he stated that it would be grateful if the national transporter identifies more such facilities (up to a level of 5,000 beds, as was done the previous year) so as to meet the huge demand of COVID-19 beds arising out of an ever increasing surge in novel coronavirus positive cases this time in NCT of Delhi. Last year, as many as 813 coaches with 12,472 beds were deployed by the national transporter in the month of July- 503 covid care coaches in Delhi, 270 covid care coaches Uttar Pradesh and 40 covid care coaches in Bihar. Most of these covid care coaches, however, were not used and complaints were raised by people about the heat and mosquitoes inside them.