336 railway employees died of COVID, Goyal tells RS

He says no special compensation was given to families of the deceased

Over 300 railway employees have lost their lives due to COVID-19, the government said on Friday, adding that no special compensation was given to the families of those deceased.

As per the data shared by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal in the Rajya Sabha, the total COVID cases among the railway employees stood at 14,714, while the deceased was 336.

A maximum of over 2,200 infections were reported by the South Central Railway, followed by 1,323 cases in the Central Railway, 1,307 in the Northern Railway, 1,145 in the Southern Railway and 1,013 cases in the East Central Railway.

Asked whether any special compensation was given to the families of those deceased due to COVID-19, Mr. Goyal replied in the negative.

“Compensation to the family of deceased railway servants who die during performance of their bona fide duties is granted in the form of ex gratia payment as per the guidelines of the Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare. However, death on account of any disease is not included in these guidelines,” he said.

Isolation wards

Replying to a separate query on conversion of passenger train coaches into isolation wards, Mr. Goyal said 5,601 coaches had been converted into COVID Care Centres from March till June.

The Railways, he added, spent approximately ₹60,000 per coach on minor modifications such as removal of middle berth and conversion of one toilet into shower room and provision of medical facilities, including oxygen cylinders and other items. “An average expenditure of approximately ₹7,000 has been incurred per patient in the COVID care coaches,” he added.

The Minister told Parliament that as on date, 813 coaches had been provided as requisitioned by State governments. These include 503 coaches in Delhi, 270 in Uttar Pradesh and 40 in Bihar.

“As per the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, these special coaches are to be used by the State governments only after they have exhausted their own medical facilities,” Mr. Goyal said.

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