Manipur officials visit Jiribam Rly Station to oversee facilities for returnees
IMPHAL, May 7 - A team of top officials led by Manipur Chief Secretary Dr J Suresh Babu today inspected the railway station at Jiribam, 220 km from the State capital, after it was identified as a terminal station for arrival of people stranded outside.
Additional Chief Secretary (Relief) MH Khan, Principal Secretary (Health) V Vumlunmang, Additional DGP L Kailun and others were among the team that visited Jiribam to assess requirements like temporary pandals, toilets, screening, parking and segregation areas, etc.
Disclosing this at a press conference here this afternoon, the Chief Secretary said that a train carrying 1,200 people in 22 bogies may operate soon to ferry stranded people to the State. The first such non-stop train may start from Bengaluru on Saturday or Sunday, Dr Babu said, adding that discussion is on for starting trains from other places too.
So far 34,200 out of the 45,000 persons who have registered on the website, www.tengbang.in, have expressed their desire to return to Manipur. But the Government of the originating State has to make most of the arrangements in consultation with the Railways, he pointed out.
However, the Chief Secretary appealed to those stranded people who have jobs to stay back at their respective places of work in view of the current situation. In response to a query, he said that so far, 215 stranded persons have returned from outside the State after relaxation of the lockdown restrictions.
On the COVID-19 management initiatives, the Chief Secretary claimed that Manipur is the only State which has done cent per cent screening of all domestic airline passengers.
�Since January 18, 2020, we have screened 2,02,130 people entering the State by air or road,� he said. The Manipur Government also sealed the international border with Myanmar, ahead of the Centre�s order, on March 10.
Highlighting the ongoing steps taken to contain the spread of COVID-19, Dr Babu said that the State Government has established 92 institutional quarantine centres with a capacity of 3,225 beds. Besides, 102 more centres with a capacity of 5,187 beds have been identified.
Two COVID-19 treatment blocks have also been established at the JNIMS and RIMS hospitals with a total bed capacity of 100, including 20 in ICUs, he said.
At present, 107 people are in institutional quarantine, while 486 are under home quarantine. The Chief Secretary said that the State has adequate rice stocks under the NFSA and PMGKAY schemes for distribution in remote villages.
