Medical Infrastructure - Coronavirus: Railways to make ventilators, coaches to be isolation units
Posted on: 26/Mar/2020 1:36:51 PM
As the government prepares for a long battle against COVID-19 with mount5ing cases of the raging coronavirus, additional infrastructure has become a dire necessity!
So, plans are afoot to make isolation wards in trains for rural and remote areas, and manufacturing of ventilators in its factories are at the top of the agenda for the Indian Railways.
While the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in Kapurthala has been tasked with the duty of converting LHB coaches into isolation wards, the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, the makers of Train 18 (India’s first electric semi-high speed train), is attempting to manufacture ventilators.
Addressing a video conference on Wednesday, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Railway Board Chairman V K Yadav told the top brass to be prepared in the event of community transmission of COVID-19, which would then require reinforcement of healthcare facilities across India, especially in rural and remote areas.
A top Railway Ministry official told: “The instructions are to achieve preparedness and be on standby. This is keeping in mind the scenario of a long battle beyond the 21-day lockdown.”
