E-Paper
UPSRTC initiates intra-state operations from Ghaziabad; 232 samples taken from Vaishali on day 1 of sealing
Ghaziabad:
Ghaziabad:
The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) on Monday initiated the commercial operations of about 500 buses from the Ghaziabad region for different cities and towns in the state. About 180 state-run buses departed to various destinations till Monday evening, officials said, adding that online reservation facility will also be available from Tuesday.
The commercial operation of buses was started after the state government on Sunday rolled out the plan to open up activities in accordance with the May 30 directions of the Union ministry of home affairs, which has allowed inter-state and intra-state movement. On Sunday, the UP officials had said that UPSRTC would initiate intra-state operations.
“About 180 buses departed till Monday evening and we are expecting more response on Tuesday. Closing of borders by Delhi will not affect us much and our buses, which earlier also operated from Anand Vihar, will now depart from the nearby Kaushambi area. So, people of Delhi can come to the border on foot and board buses to their home towns. Since we have started the commercial operations, the passengers are now charged the normal fares for travel,” said AK Singh, regional manager of UPSRTC.
The buses, which left Ghaziabad on Monday, departed for different cities, including Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Farukkhabad, Kasganj, Etah, and Mainpuri, among others.
The Ghaziabad region operates 980 buses, including luxurious and Pink Line Women-only ones, to different cities in Uttar Prdesh and other states like Delhi, Bihar and Uttarakhand, among others.
“We did not rope in high-end Volvo and Scania buses on Monday, while Pink Line Women-only buses and normal AC buses departed. The buses left with seating capacity of 50 passengers who were properly screened with infrared thermometer and nobody was allowed to board without mask. There are strict directions that only seating will be allowed and no one should travel standing,” Singh added.
Hundreds of passengers arrived at Kaushambi and maintained social distancing as the UPSRTC staff asked them to sanitize their hands and details of every passenger were noted down.
Dinesh Kashyap, a passenger at Kaushambi, said, “It took some time to board the bus due to several precautions like social distancing, screening, etc. The staff also noted down personal details like addresses and mobile number of every passenger on board. Since I could not get a train ticket, I preferred to travel by bus to my home town.”
Awanish Awasthi, UP’s additional chief secretary (home), said directions have been given for surveillance and tracking of passengers.
“Since the train services have also started, we have proposed to give handbills to every passenger about precautions to be taken against Coronavirus. We have also written to the chairman of the Railway Board in this regard. At every station, there will be deployment of police and health department teams who will monitor passengers,” he added.
232 samples taken from Vaishali
Meanwhile, the Ghaziabad district administration on Monday implemented its ‘sector scheme’ to seal Vaishali, which is now divided into two administrative zones and four sectors.
“We have deployed a three-member team comprising a doctor, a lab technician and a pharmacist in each sector to take up sampling and surveillance in households. On the first day, 232 samples were taken from Vaishali. Each team has been given a target to cover 150 households,” said a statement from the district magistrate’s office.
“An ambulance has been kept ready in each sector to deal with any emergency. Extensive sanitization by three fire tenders and fogging activity by the municipal corporation were also undertaken. The district magistrate has given instruction for strict implementation of sector scheme in Vaishali,” the statement said.
District magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey did not respond to calls on Monday.
Till May 31, the total number of Covid-19 cases stood at 34 in Vaishali. The sealing activity in the locality was initiated on Monday in order to keep in check rising number of cases. A similar sealing is already in place in Khoda since May 10 and in Loni since May 27.
According to official records, 15 cases came from Khoda till May 9 after which the sector scheme was initiated on May 10. Thereafter, 25 more cases have emerged from Khoda. Likewise, in Loni which saw about 22 cases till May 26, six more have come till May 31 after sealing was put in place on May 27.
“The Covid-19 cases are still coming in from Khoda and Loni, and positive cases may continue to come from Vaishali also. But our teams are trying to contain any spread further. This is why the sector scheme has been initiated in Vaishali. People having symptoms like fever, cough and cold, etc, will be screened by out teams and appropriate treatment will be provided,” said Dr NK Gupta, chief medical officer.
