General Manager Holds Crisis Management Meeting in the wake of disruption of Rail services due to heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh

No.560/2015-16

17-11-2015

Secunderabad

General Manager Holds Crisis Management Meeting in the wake of disruption of Rail services due to heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh

Shri Ravindra Gupta, General Manager, South Central Railway held a emergency high level crisis management meeting today i.e., 17thNovember, 2015 at Rail Nilayam, Secunderabad to review relief and restoration measures in the wake of disruption of rail services o­n Gudur - Renigunta and Renigunta - Gooty sections of South Central Railway due to water overflowing rail tracks and bank slips o­n account of heavy rains in the region. The meeting was attended by Principal Heads of Departments of the Zone.           

The General Manager, who has been keeping tab o­n the developments o­n a minute to minute basis since yesterday, appreciated the Divisional Railway Manager, Guntakal Division and his team of officials for taking timely decision to get back the trains which came to unexpected halt o­n the Renigunta-Gudur section yesterday evening due to sudden unsafe track conditions. The trains were brought back to Renigunta safely and all arrangements made for food, water, medical needs etc., thereby minimizing inconvenience to passengers.

Taking stock of the situation from the officials present, the General Manager instructed that the restoration work o­n the affected rail sections should be completed efficiently at the earliest. At the same time, the restoration work should be taken up without jeopardizing track and rail passengers’ safety, he specifically stated. The General Manager reviewed the progress of restoration work in the affected sections and instructed that –

Required man power shall be mobilized at the restoration work spots, if needed by deploying staff and officers from other locations o­n the Zone.

Machinery including JCB’s, Tractors etc., shall be arranged immediately for undertaking the work.

Material including sand, ballast, boulders, cement, quarry dust etc., is made available at the work spots for strengthening and normalizing the rail track banks, despite the odds of lack of proper road connectivity to the work locations.

• Required Catering arrangements shall be ensured and food supplied free of cost to stranded passengers of affected trains.
• Necessary arrangements shall be made by deploying Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel including Lady personnel to ensure passengers security at stations and trains.
• Medical facilities shall be kept in readiness to attend to needs of passengers if needed, so that they do not undergo difficulty.
• All helpline numbers set up at various major railway stations shall function round the clock until total normalcy of rail operations is restored.
• Arrangements shall be made to provide water in trains, by planning to suitably stable the trains at such stations where the water filling facility is available.
• Cleanliness and Hygiene should be maintained in trains and at stations, particularly of the toilets.
• Drinking water bottles should be necessarily supplied without any compromise to stranded passengers.
• Special care should be taken to meet the requirements of Senior Citizens, Children & Infants and arrangements made to provide hot milk etc., for their needs.
• Priority should be given for running of passenger carrying trains and movements of goods trains should be curtailed towards the purpose.

The General Manager is leaving to Renigunta later in the day to personally oversee the relief and restoration work o­n Guntakal division, which mainly bore the brunt of the rains.