The battle against COVID-19 has forced the rail authorities to take unprecedented measures of curtailing the staff on duty.
Except for the staff required for core operations such as running the trains and maintenance, it has asked employees to stay at home, as unlike in the IT sector, working from home is not an option in most cases. As a result, the divisional railway headquarters in Mysuru now wears a deserted look, with some of the offices locked.
Sources told The Hindu that even the railway workshop at Ashokapuram was functioning with skeleton staff, and most officials and staff from the commercial branch, the personnel department and other administration-related departments had been instructed to stay at home.
The order came into effect on Friday and will be valid till next Wednesday, after which the authorities will evaluate the situation and take a call on either resuming normal duty or extending the restriction.
The Principal Chief Personnel Manager of South Western Railway issued a communiqué stating that restriction of staff movement was considered essential at this point, considering the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak and the increase in the number of affected persons in the SWR jurisdiction.
The communiqué directed all PHODs, CHODs, DRMs, CWMS and heads of field units to instruct their staff to work from home and to ensure that all administrative offices, workshops and store depots are kept closed. However, this order does not apply to offices of staff involved in train operations and in the maintenance of fixed and moving assets.
Being on call
However, it was pointed out to the employees that this measure was primarily to confine the staff to their homes and minimise the risk of catching infections. Hence, it is imperative that they be available at home and be reachable on mobile and other electronic means of communication at all times, and be prepared to attend office in the event of any exigency.
Sources said 3,000 to 5,000 employees across Mysuru division alone may be staying at home, and this is reckoned to be unprecedented in the annals of the Railways. “Apart from the administrative section, there is the open line section which deals with the operation of trains and maintenance of rolling stock and signal and communication, and about 50% of the staff will work on rotation,” a source said.
It was pointed out that some of the staff from the open line section drawn from electrical and mechanical branches too have been asked to stay at home, and this is not expected to burden the staff on duty as a large number of trains have been cancelled owing to poor patronage.
Mysuru division cancelled about 12 trains on Friday, and the number is expected to rise as passenger movement reduces to a trickle.
