Chennai

Railway authorities have ordered its staff at Tiruvottiyur to self-quarantine nearly a week after an assistant loco pilot there had tested positive. Days before a couple of officers had tested positive on Thursday, an assistant loco pilot in Tiruvottiyur had contracted the virus.

The assistant loco pilot, a new recruit, was understood to have reported to duty at the crew booking office in Tiruvottiyur on May 20. “Fortunately, he was issued sick memo immediately as he had complained of fever then. The new recruit was actually scheduled to be taken on a cab (EMU) for footplate inspection to familiarise signals and crossings then,” said a railway source.

However, officers have advised the employees, who were on duty at the crew booking office on May 20, to quarantine themselves for five days only on Saturday, and that too All India Loco Running Staff Association (ALRSA), employees union of train crew, had mailed a memorandum to the general manager on Friday. The association, in its memorandum, had alleged that standard operating procedures (SOP) must be strictly enforced.

Meanwhile, administrative staff has also started panicking following Thursday’s closure of headquarters and the demise of one of their colleagues a week earlier. In both instances, age of the patients was the reason for the employee’s anxiety. An accounts assistant in the joint office, who was the first casualty in the zone, and the two officers who had tested positive were above 50 years. When asked, a highly placed SR officer said, “No one is compelled to turn up for work. We follow the guidelines of the govt. If any employee has co- morbidity, they are allowed to stay away from work after giving in writing. Also, employees above 50 are given the liberty to decide. It is their call. No one is compelled. We prepare the roaster only in consultation with employees.”