New Delhi: The Ministry of Railways has generated over 1.6 lakh man-days of work for migrant labourers in 4 weeks under the PM Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan.
According to the Ministry of Railways, a total of Rs 608 crore have also been paid to migrant workers so far.
The Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 20 and is in operation across 116 identified districts of six states - Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkhand.
Indian Railways Providing Employment to Returnee Migrant Workers: Chairman Railway Board Shri Vinod Kumar Yadav#GaribKalyanRojgarYojana pic.twitter.com/N4hKq38vUo
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) July 18, 2020
The States were selected on the basis of the number of migrant labourers returning to these states.
The Railways has also identified 160 infrastructure developments works under the scheme, designed to provide employment to the labourers who returned to their villages due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
According to the Railway Board Chairman, Vinod Kumar Yadav, "8,828 manpower will generate 8,67,675 man-days of work by the end of October while spending approximately Rs 1,800 crore."
The state-wise break-up of man-days work:
- In Bihar, the Railways has generated 62,667 man-days of work while spending Rs 204.81 crore.
- Uttar Pradesh has witnessed 52,696 man-days of work and has spent Rs 246.30 crore.
- Rajasthan has 10,458 man-days of work and spent Rs 43.49 crore.
- In Madhya Pradesh, 32,379 man-days of work has been created and there has been an expenditure of Rs 70.87 crore.
- Odisha has seen 1,147 man-days of work while spending Rs 40.38 crore.
- In Jharkhand, the Railways has generated 1,904 man-days of work at a cost of Rs 3.03 crore.
The works are related to the construction and maintenance of approach roads for level crossings, development and cleaning of silted waterways, trenches and drains along the track.
It will also have the construction and maintenance of approach road to railway stations, repair and widening of existing railway embankments/cuttings, plantation at the extreme boundary of railway land and protection works of existing embankments/cuttings/bridges.
Meanwhile, the Indian Railways has also created post-COVID coaches to ensure a safer journey for the passengers. This post-COVID coach has design improvements in the coach like handsfree amenities, copper-coated handrails and latches, plasma air purification and titanium di-oxide coating for COVID free passenger journey.
Following are the salient features of the post-COVID coach:
1. Handsfree amenities: Post-COVID Coach is having handsfree amenities like foot-operated water tap & soap dispenser, foot-operated lavatory door (outside), foot-operated flush valve, foot-operated latches in lavatory door, outside washbasin with foot-operated water tap and soap dispenser and forearm operated handle on the compartment door.
2. Copper-coated handrails & latches: Post-COVID Coach equipped with copper-coated handrails & latches because copper degrades the virus landed on it within a few hours. Copper has anti-microbial properties. When the virus lands on copper, Ion blasts pathogen and destroys the DNA and RNA inside the virus.
PM @NarendraModi जी के नेतृत्व में रेलवे ने कोविड-19 के संक्रमण को रोकने के लिए तैयार किये खास कोचेस।
इन कोचेज में लगे है हैंड्सफ्री वॉटर टैप, सोप डिस्पेंसर, गेट व टॉयलेट फ्लश, जिन्हें यात्री बिना हाथ से छुए ऑपरेट कर सकेंगे। pic.twitter.com/kdEZDnBKJ2
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) July 17, 2020
3. Plasma air purification: Post-COVID Coach is having a provision of plasma air equipment in the AC duct. This plasma air equipment will sterilize the air and surfaces inside the AC coach using ionised air to make the coach Covid-19 and particulate matter resistant. This provision will also improve the ion concentration from 100 ions/cm3 to more than 6000 ions/cm.
4. Titanium Dioxide coating: Post-COVID Coach is having Titanium Di-oxide coating in the coach. Nanostructured Titanium Dioxide Coating functions as photoactive material. This is an aeco-friendly water-based coating that kills viruses, bacteria, mould, and fungal growth and most importantly enhances indoor air quality. It is non-toxic and approved by the food testing laboratory of the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA), CE certified. TiO2 is considered to be a safe substance and is harmless to humans. This Titanium Di-oxide coating applied on washbasins, lavatory, seats & berths, snack table, glass window, floor, virtually every surface that comes in human contact. The effective life of this coating is 12 months.
