First Special trains reach Jalpaiguri, Rlys maintains lockdown norms

Darjeeling: Since the lockdown started, the first train reached the New Jalpaiguri Station on Wednesday, which started from Delhi on Tuesday.

Elaborate arrangements had been made by Railways and the district administration to ensure that social distance is maintained. Passengers to board the Delhi-Dibrugarh AC Special train to Assam from NJP were asked to come to the station well ahead of scheduled departure time to allow for medical examinations and for entering individual details. On arrival, passengers lugguages were disinfected.

The Railways and the district administration recorded the details of the passengers. According to that, 66 passengers disembarked at NJP including 8 from Cooch Behar; 24 from the Kalimpong and Darjeeling districts and 34 from Jalpaiguri and other 145 passengers boarded the train at NJP for Assam.

A law final year student, Dipak Kumar Sethia, resident of Jaigaon in Alipurduar, who returned from Kanpur told, "As I was putting up in a relative's house, I did not face many problems. There are many people from different states are on the roads still. I feel I'm lucky to have reached home. The GTA had set up a help desk at the NJP and arranged transportation for the 8 passengers on this train from the GTA area. "The passengers will first go to institution quarantine in their respective areas and the swabs samples will be taken on sixth-day," stated Binny Sharma, in charge of the GTA helpdesk.

"36 Sharamik Special trains have already have ferried more than 42,000 people in the region including migrant workers, tourists, pilgrims, students and others stranded people in different places. Four such Shramik Special trains are scheduled to reach various stations in Bihar within the NFR area in the coming two to three days" stated Subhanan Chanda, Chief Public Relations Officer, North East Frontier Railways.