32 Employees from the State Transport department test positive for coronavirus

Coronavirus cases in the state of Maharashtra are increasing with every passing day, and among the many who are infected with the virus are the employees associated with the State Transport (ST) department. 

Reports suggest that 32 ST employees have passed away due to the COVID-19 infection and  316 employees are undergoing treatment in various hospitals in the state. So far, 970 ST employees have had coronavirus infection and, 622 employees have successfully recovered and discharged.

ST's Mumbai and Thane divisions have the highest number of coronavirus positive employees. Four out of the 32 employees who passed away recently were from ST's Mumbai headquarters, and many others were from various depots in Thane division.

A few months back, the authorities at the ST department decided to offer a compensation of INR 50 lakhs for ones who pass away due to coronavirus infection, while on duty. However, reports state that only 6 employees have received this compensation benefit so far.

The state of Maharashtra was under lockdown for few months due to coronavirus outbreak, under which train services and other modes of transport, except the buses, were shut down as per guidelines issued by the ministry. Essential service workers were dependant on buses and ST corporation for commute, however, with increasing number of passengers in the unlock phases, the ST Corporation has decided to gradually increase the number of buses in the state. This would avoid inconvenience caused to the passengers during the journey.

Further, the corporation has now decided to install curtains between two seats and operate the buses in full capacity. Earlier buses were running at 50 per cent passenger capacity (only 22 passengers instead of 44), however, the plan was made keeping the demand in mind. The plan will be tested in the pilot phase initially and will be implemented if successful. Currently, the Maharashtra government has allowed inter-district travel, and this would help the department recover the loss, but increasing the income.