Railway passengers climbing walls to escape mandatory screening at Silchar station

The air passengers arriving in Silchar from outside of the northeast are asked to go through mandatory Covid testing near the Kumbhirgram airport. A fee of 500 rupees is being charged from each passenger for the mandatory RT-PCR test. Those who have left without the mandatory Covid testing are now being threatened with legal action by the District Administration.

On the other hand, in the case of railway passengers, this administration is absolutely indifferent. The Kanchenjunga Express departing from the Sealdah station arrived at the Silchar railway station at around 2.30 pm on Tuesday. About a hundred passengers who had boarded at various stations in the West Bengal landed at Silchar on that day. Let alone doing the mandatory Covid test, the passengers didn’t even go through the thermal checking procedure.

Other than setting up a centre at the main gate to check the temperature of the arriving passengers, nothing else was there to be done. Most of the passengers did not go through that test. Instead of coming to the main gate of the railway station, they took different shortcut routes and left the station. Many autorickshaws were waiting outside who was keen on picking up the passengers to take them to their destinations.

When the train entered the station, many autorickshaws gradually accumulated on the road next to the petrol pump adjacent to Annapurna Ghat. The passengers also proceeded slowly towards the rear area without going to the main entrance of the station. Realizing the opportunity, the auto drivers gave them signals and the passengers ran towards them.

Those who have headed home directly in an auto without any Covid test after returning from West Bengal, if they happen to have an infection in their body, not only the family of those people but also other passengers could be infected with the virus. The government has already announced that there has been a community spread of the Covid virus in the Kamrup district. If this continues, it is very much possible for a community spread to occur in the Cachar district as well.

When the incident took place, let alone police, not even a single Railway constable was there on the scene. No-one stopped the passengers and they too quite keenly went back home. When inquired, Silchar Station Superintendent Biplab Das said, “Covid management is the responsibility of the state government. It is the responsibility of the administration and the police to check whether the passengers are returning home after checking. Although the number of passengers right now is relatively low, still we are not in a position to test them. The railway department does not have a medical team or essential types of equipment like the Covid test kit. We have already informed the administration that they should come forward to assist us, but so far no help has arrived yet.”

The District Administration had recently informed that a Covid test centre would be set up at the Silchar railway station. Additional District Commissioner Sumit Sattawan, who is in charge of the health department, made the announcement at a press conference. But since the announcement, a week has passed already but the administration has not taken any action yet in this regard. When the train arrives, a makeshift centre is set up where passengers are supposed to undergo thermal tests. Once, health workers were saying that there were no batteries in the thermal test machine and that they are presenting it in front of the passengers just to show off.

Why is the Cachar district administration so indifferent to the train passengers when there is so much fuss about the air passengers? Administration officials might not agree to answer this question. However, four big cargo trains enter Silchar from outside the northeast every week, bringing in people from different states including West Bengal and Kerala. They are returning home using various means of public transport but without any Covid test at all. Neither any certificate of Covid test is being asked for. Amid such a situation, not only the ordinary corona strain but also various mutants of the virus can enter the Cachar district as well, thereby wreaking havoc in the lives of the people of Barak valley.