The South Central Railway (SCR) on Tuesday cancelled the operations of 29 trains to Telangana due to poor patronage in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
The trains that have been cancelled include those shuttling between Kakinada town-Lingampalli, Secunderabad-Machilipatnam, Hyderabad-Ernakulam, Hyderabad-Vijayawada, Hyderabad-Tiruchirapalli, HS Nanded-Aurangabad, Aurangabad-Renigunta, Tirupati-Chennai Central and Kacheguda -Kanpur Central.
Trains that shuttle between Mumbai LTT-Ajni, Mumbai LTT-Karimnagar, Mumbai CST-Nagpur, Nagpur-Mumbai CST, Kalaburagi-Hyderabad, Chennai-Secunderabad, Santrangachi-Chennai were also cancelled.
South Central Railway said that announcements are being made at railway stations about the cancellation of the trains and that refunds can be processed at counters.
Advisories to other organisations
Several other government organisations and agencies in Telangana have issued advisories to the public with the aim of promoting social distancing measures.
All meetings with prisoners in all jails have been suspended with effect from Tuesday. Telangana Prisons and Correctional Services initiated the step as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of coronavirus to prisons.
Meanwhile, the Indian Dental Association (IDA) issued an advisory to all dental professionals. “We strongly recommend all our dentists practising in the country voluntarily suspend non-essential or not urgent dental care up to March 31, 2020. IDA does not make this request slightly and it is being done of an abundance of caution during this serious outbreak and historic public health emergency,” read their statement.
The Telangana State Dental Council also requested dentists to reschedule and suspend all non-essential and elective dental procedures for three weeks.
The Employee Provident Fund Organisation issued a notice advising EPF members and employers of establishments not to visit any of the EPF offices for information and grievances. Senior citizens availing EPFs have been asked to reach out to 040-29705520 and 040-29708830, or email ro.kukatpally@epfindia.
Organisations also told senior citizens that all PF withdrawals and name and date of birth changes can be done online.
Meanwhile, Telangana recorded its fifth case of coronavirus on Tuesday. An Indonesian national who was part of a group of 10 who were on a visit to Karimnagar district in the state, is the latest person to test positive for the virus.
He is presently undergoing treatment at the state-run Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad.
Read: