114 APSRTC employees died of COVID-19, says MD

Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) Vice-Chairman and Managing Director R.P. Thakur mentioned the company has cancelled some providers on account of drop in Occupancy Ratio (OR) within the wake of a spurt in COVID-19 circumstances.

“Depot Managers (DMs) have been empowered to cancel services on routes where there was no traffic, and instructions have been given to operate buses with only 50% capacity,” Mr. Thakur mentioned.

“In all, 114 APSRTC employees have died, including 21 in the second wave, due to COVID-19, and 6,790 employees have been infected with the virus across the State, with 1,090 of them contracting the virus in the last 45 days. We are taking all steps to provide protection to our employees and officers,” Mr. Thakur advised The Puucho on Monday.

Instructions have been given to employees to put on double masks, take the vaccine, comply with COVID precautions, conduct consciousness on prevention of the virus in any respect bus stations and run buses as per demand, he knowledgeable.

“On April 25, the OR had fallen to 43%. We are giving top priority to the safety of employees and passengers. Officers have been directed to sanitise bus stations and buses with sodium hypochlorite regularly, ensure wearing of masks, using sanitisers and maintaining social distancing,” Mr. Thakur mentioned, thanking Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy for treating APSRTC employees as frontline employees and giving them precedence in vaccination.

Chief Personnel Manager (CPM-incharge) D. Samrajyam mentioned that APSRTC was offering medicines to the employees in any respect RTC district and regional dispensaries, and treating emergency circumstances on the APSRTC State Hospital in Vijayawada.

“We are providing consultation through phone and specialist doctors are monitoring the health of COVID patients. Besides, treatment is being provided at referral hospitals. Vaccination camps are being arranged at all depots and at the nearest Primary Health Centres (PHC) for our staff,” Ms. Samrajyam mentioned.

Mr. Thakur mentioned the company is working providers to Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Odisha in response to the circumstances laid down by the respective States, and had been alerting the passengers on cancellation of providers occasionally to keep away from any inconvenience.

Meanwhile, few passengers had been seen at Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) in Vijayawada, in addition to RTC complexes in Guntur, Machilipatnam, Gudivada and different bus stations on Monday, within the backdrop of a rising quantity of COVID circumstances.