Passengers to and from the city’s major railway stations including Howrah and Sealdah are likely to face continued difficulties tomorrow as public transport including that provided by the state government will be off the roads. According to officials, train services in the South Eastern Railway will remain cancelled tomorrow.
The SER cancelled two pairs of trains namely Howrah – Bhubaneswar Special Train and Howrah – Barbil Superfast Special Train that were scheduled for tomorrow. While in Eastern Railway, one pair of trains- Howrah Special Train, was cancelled. Other special trains in Eastern Railway from Howrah and Sealdah stations are to operate normally. Decision was taken late in the afternoon on the request of the state government, approved by the railway ministry.
To ensure complete lockdown, the state authorities have decided to withdraw government, public and private buses even near railway stations. “Few special buses were deployed yesterday at Howrah Station for passengers yesterday,” said an official of the state Transport Department.
The state government will be running more than 175 private and minibuses from various depots in and around the city for people providing essential services including the health sector. The department has taken 150 buses from All Bengal Bus Minibus Samannay Samiti for workers of the health sectors. Similarly, 28 private and mini buses under West Bengal Bus and MiniBus Owners’ Association are being used to ferry staff to government hospitals.
However private bus owners have been strictly asked not to ply their vehicles on the days of lockdown. In the absence of public buses, the passengers of trains will be able to avail taxis and online app cabs. The taxi operators under the Bengal Taxi association which is running 50 taxis for health sector workers, will be providing services to train passengers and other heading for medical purposes only if valid documents are provided to the drivers.
Similarly, the online app cab operators have opened control rooms where commuters can call up at helpline numbers 9804886028 or 9432324341. Apart from online apps, cabs can be booked at these helpline numbers. The online app cab drivers will allow the commuters only if they are provided with proper documents.