COVID-19 Crisis: Railway Protection Force, Delhi Division comes at rescue of the poor and needy

Abhishek Ranjan.

In the current times, every organization is doing its part to make lives easier, especially for the poor and the needy. One amongst them is the Railway Protection Force, Delhi Division (RPF/DLI). From the very beginning of the current conundrum, RPF/DLI switched gears and moved beyond its traditional duties. Their initiatives include establishing and operating 2 Quarantine Centres, distribution of ration and cooked meals amongst the needy, training Covid-19 volunteers and many more.
RPF/DLI operates 2 Quarantine Centres, one at Tughlaqabad and one at Daya Basti with a total capacity of 90 beds. The facilities are currently housing around 70 people. The Force, in coordination with IRCTC, NGOs and using its own resources has distributed more than 2.75 lakh cooked meals at around 20 locations which accounts for more than 10% of the pan-Indian distribution of meals by Indian Railways since the lockdown. They have also distributed dry ration to nearly 2,000 people at places where transportation of cooked meals is difficult. As the demand increased, members of the Force decided to pool their own resources and established full-fledged kitchens at four locations where everything right from sourcing of raw materials to cooking and distribution is being done by RPF/DLI. These locations were chosen as they enable working of an efficient hub-and-spoke model.

As part of the RPF Community Capacity Building Programme against Covid-19, RPF/DLI has been training volunteers from the slum areas in small batches by intensive use of technology such as WhatsApp. Each of these volunteers have been assigned 20 houses and have helped in creating awareness and a database of pregnant women, newborns and elderlies in need of critical care. This is to ensure smooth facilitation of healthcare in coordination with other agencies if and when the need arises. RPF/DLI is now making masks with the participation of the community. Sanitiser is also being produced in-house following the WHO standards.
RPF/DLI has also created awareness about the Aarogya Setu application, the iGOT (Integrated Government Online Training) platform related to Covid-19 and have provided other basic details to hundreds. As a matter of fact, RPF/DLI has directly encouraged more than 500 people in slums to use the Aarogya Setu app for safety and awareness. Nearly 50% of RPF/DLI staff themselves have been self-trained in the “Basics of Covid-19” on the iGOT platform so as to promote transmission of helpful information.
A Senior Officer informed us that “we are briefing our staff on a daily basis to take precautionary measures; all the posts and outposts are being visited by senior officials frequently and they are interacting with the staff to keep the morale high”. He said that “everyone from the top to bottom is convinced that it is time to travel the extra mile and be dedicated soldiers in India’s fight against Covid-19”.