Mysore/Mysuru: Aparna Garg, Divisional Railway Manager, South Western Railway (SWR), Mysuru, inspected  the nearly 270-km stretch of Section from Mysuru-Arsikere-Chikjajur on Friday accompanied by senior officials of Operations, Civil Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical and Medical Departments of the Division.

She again reminded the core team that the priority of the Ministry of Railways (Railway Board) was safety and as such protocols prescribed for maintenance of critical assets of the Railways like tracks, signal and telecommunication equipment and rolling stock should be in a sense ‘fail-safe’.

Garg once again emphasised the fact that the safety in train operations can never be taken lightly in view of the enormous responsibility the organisation has in this critical phase as the country was battling the scourge of Coronavirus. Whether it was transportation of essential commodities across our vast network or conversion of passenger coaches as Isolation Wards to treat Covid-19 patients, we need to accomplish the tasks assigned to us flawlessly, she said. 

Time is of the essence in these testing times and as such we can ill-afford even a minor hiccup in our operational efficiency, she observed. She called everyone connected with train operations — from trackmen to Station Masters-Loco Pilots — to be always vigil and work as per rule book protocols and never resort to short cut methods which could endanger the safety of trains. 

Besides inspecting four Stations, Garg also interacted with trackmen and keymen in the five gangs in the midsection to get a first hand information on genuine staff grievances and the assistance they required from the administration.

She also underlined the need for everyone to meet the prevailing health emergency upfront. As containing spread of the virus was very vital, casual approach should be shunned by one and all. She reiterated the importance of staff to strictly follow the comprehensive guidelines issued by the Health Ministry for maintaining personal hygiene and social distancing in work places.

She instructed the Branch Officers to ensure that there were no slippages in providing adequate number of protective masks, hand sanitisers, etc. to field staff. The Doctor in the inspection team gave a demonstration on coughing and sneezing etiquette to staff as an important preventive measure. 

The DRM also met with family members of staff in the Railway Colony at Shivani and asked them to keep the area around them neat and tidy. She also enquired about the availability of groceries, vegetables, drinking water etc. and instructed the supervisors to keep a watch on this situation so that timely action could be initiated in emergencies, according to a press release from Priya Shetty, Divisional Commercial Manager and PRO.