As many as 1,028 stranded returnees whose train journey was terminated at Guwahati due to bad weather condition were brought back to Manipur in 44 buses arranged by the state government, a release stated on Wednesday.
Incessant rains washed away the railway track between Lamding and Badarpur in Assam and disrupted railway services. Owing to it, the train journey of the returnees to Manipur who were to arrive at Jiribam railway station was halted at Guwahati and the state government arranged the buses for their onward journey home, a government release stated.
The stranded passengers reached Jiribam on Tuesday night by bus and are being transported from Jiribam to Imphal by the state transport department, the release stated.
The state government is making all-out efforts to bring back all stranded people from various states and organised 22 trains so far, the release stated. Unfortunately due to incessant rains in Assam, the railway track between Lamding and Badarpur was washed pay and it is likely to take 10 days for repair, it said.
Another train which started from Mumbai with 1,639 passengers which is to reach Jiribam on June 4 will be terminated at Guwahati, it said.
The state government has hired 30 buses from Assam and sent another 23 buses from Imphal to Guwahati on Wednesday to bring back those passengers, it added.
The state government has made elaborate arrangements in spite of many constraints, the release stated, adding arrangement for trains will be considered only after the railway track is repaired.
So far, the state government has brought back 22,419 stranded people by train, including three trains from Chennai; three trains from Hyderabad; two trains from Delhi; two trains from Mumbai; two trains from Gujarat; one train each from Punjab, Chandigarh, J&K, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Vijayawada, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Pune, Kerala, Jaipur and Haryana, it said.
The state government appreciates the commitment shown by the Jiribam district administration, Police, Transport, Health and other departments and the volunteers for handling such gigantic tasks with limited resources in Jiribam, the release said.
The government further said the testing capacity for COVID-19 in the state has been increased to 14,000 samples per day. So both the laboratories at JNIMS and RIMS have tested 11, 653 samples, it added. Of these, 108 cases are tested positive and treated at these hospitals, it said. The doctors have successfully treated and discharged 38 patients so far, it mentioned.
Yesterday, 12 patients who were treated at RIMS tested negative and were discharged. Today, another 11 patients who are under treatment at JNIMS are tested negative and discharged. The state government appreciates the doctors, nurses and all others associated with treatment of the patients for their efforts, it added.
The government is so far running 17 institutional quarantine centres and 770 community quarantine centres across the state, the release stated.
The state government appreciates the efforts made by all the public representatives, government employees and local volunteers who are contributing immensely in running these centres, it said.
It also expressed appreciation of the commitment shown by the Transport Council and other transport associates, their drivers and handymen in transporting such large number of people, the release added.
