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Train service to evacuate Jammu and Kashmir residents starts

JAMMU: To facilitate the evacuation of Jammu and Kashmir residents from other parts of the country amid the Covid-19 lockdown, the administration has given green signal to the arrival of trains in the union territory. The first train is expected to arrive on late Sunday evening or Monday morning.


A government spokesperson said trains entering the union territory will disembark passengers at Udhampur railway station .

“The highly regulated homecoming of such persons aboard the trains has been initiated with elaborate preemptive arrangements. The authorities have framed intensive protocols and established detailed procedure for their district-wise return,” he said.

The district administration in Udhampur has created a fresh sample collection capacity of 1,000 per day for train returnees as there will be 100% testing of passengers for Covid-19. As per the administration, all arrangements for receiving, registering and sending the returnees to their destinations by bus have been made.

The returnees heading towards Jammu, Samba and Kathua will be sent to Jammu, where their samples will be taken and then quarantined (administrative quarantine). “All returnees to Doda and Kishtwar will be sent to Doda and after the sample collection there, they will be then quarantined (administrative quarantine) at the respective districts,” the spokesperson said.

Similarly, the returnees to Reasi, Rajouri and Poonch will be sent to their districts. Their samples will be taken at their respective districts and quarantined there. The returnees to Ramban and Udhampur will be sent to Udhampur where their samples will be taken. However, they will be quarantined at Ramban and Udhampur, respectively.

The official added that the returnees to Kulgam and Anantnag will have their samples taken at Udhampur. They will be then sent to Kulgam and Anantnag and quarantined in their respective districts.

All other returnees to remaining eight Kashmir districts will be sent to their respective districts. Their samples will be picked up in their own districts and then quarantined (administrative quarantine) there.

In case Udhampur has some spare capacity on a particular day, it will take samples of a few more districts in this order - Kupwara, Budgam and Srinagar . Udhampur will inform the district concerned accordingly.

“All returnees have to be 100% tested and will undergo ‘administrative quarantine’ with no exceptions. Only if tests come negative, can they be sent for home quarantine for 14 days,” an official said, adding that all returnees will be sent by bus convoys with police escort till they reach quarantine facilities.

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