BHOPAL: In spite of the rising Covid-19 cases, social distancing seems to have gone for a toss at Bhopal and
Habibganj stations
. TOI team visited both stations and found a casual approach to the
Covid pandemic
which is spreading at a fast pace.
Just two weeks after special trains started following a stoppage of services due to the pandemic, people have cast aside all fears.
When the
Jan Shatabdi
reached Bhopal station around 11 am from Jabalpur, passengers alighting from the train were found moving about normally, not taking care to follow social distancing.
When asked precautions like wearing marks, a passenger reacted, “Are you seriously asking me about wearing it? Look inside the coaches. No one even is following anything. People are not wearing masks.”
Interestingly, on June 1, when the first Jan Shatabdi from Jabalpur reached Habibganj, cops were seen instructing passengers to wear masks and maintain social distancing.
The situation was no different when the same train left Habibganj station in the evening. “We are asked to stand in a queue for
screening
. The way people are standing close to each other has forced me to believe that Covid has left the city and everything is now normal,” said Anand Sahu, a passenger.
After being thermal screened, it was a free-for-all situation as passengers were loitering like pre-Covid days.
It was a similar scene at Bhopal station too. Here, the only difference was that doctors were found asking the passengers to keep wearing masks, but again, social distancing was not being followed.
A passenger said, “I had visited the same station on June 1 when trains were started. On that day, everyone appeared serious. Now, circles are still there on the platform, but no one seems to be bothered about it.”
While boarding the train also, passengers hardly cared to follow social distancing. “It is true that passengers are themselves not serious about them. Despite several instructions, they continued flouting the norms,” said an official without quoting his name.
The situation inside the coaches was even worse. Passengers were spotted removing their masks immediately after entering their respective coaches.
“Whatever formality was left is limited to the thermal screening only. I think the
railways
has also realised that people are not ready to follow the social distancing and other norms. So they have also limited their work to thermal screening,” said a senior railway official.
PRO, Bhopal railway division, IA Siddique said, “Railway has nothing to do with the facilities of thermal screening and such others. It is being done by the district administration only.”
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