Nearly 700 Army Personnel Reach Jammu Through Special Train

Around 700 soldiers who arrived in Jammu in a special train from Bengaluru on Monday are set make their way to the frontier with Pakistan, signalling the army’s determination to make no compromise on security amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The men in olive green observed all precautions related to social distancing and personal hygiene during their journey from Karnataka, which began on April 17. The train and the equipment and belongings of the troops were thoroughly disinfected and every soldier screened at Jammu railway station.

“The special train run by Indian Railways for the movement of military personnel from Bengaluru to Jammu arrived at 5am,” said an army officer who declined to be named.

“The men are being sent to the frontiers,” the officer said.

Pakistan has resorted to unprovoked and intense shelling of army posts and villages located near the border for almost a month.

“In the prevailing security scenario along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, it has been a necessity to boost the strength of security personnel required for enhancing operational readiness of units deployed in operational areas in North India,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

The train transported soldiers from different parts of south India, including Bengaluru, Belgaum and Secunderabad, who were resuming their duties in Jammu after completing courses at army training establishments, the officer said.

The train was received at Jammu by station director Chetan Taneja and military personnel. The station itself was completely sanitised before the train’s arrival.

“Adequate arrangements were made at the station by the army and railway authorities to ensure that all the norms of social distancing were observed,” said Taneja.

“Each soldier had to undergo thermal scanning to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. All personnel and their luggage were sanitised. Further, the railway station was again sanitised soon after the soldiers left,” he added.

The train driver, guard and railway staff too were screened by the assistant divisional medical officer of the railways.

The railways is operating freight trains and parcel cargo express trains for supplying essential commodities across the country. “We have also converted six bogies of a train into an isolation care facility at Jammu railway station,” said Taneja.

A defence spokesman said the army ensured that the 700 soldiers who made the journey from Bengaluru had undergone the mandated quarantine period and adhered to social distancing throughout the journey.

Source: HT

Image Courtesy: Outlook India