The district administration on Tuesday decided to make Covid tests mandatory for passengers arriving at Dhanbad railway station from Thursday.

In a meeting headed by Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner Uma Shankar Singh, it was decided that tests will be conducted using TrueNat (true-nucleic acid amplification test) at the station premises, and strict action taken against those who try to evade testing.

The district and the railway administrations have made arrangements to identify and prevent passengers from fleeing from the station without carrying out the mandatory Covid test.

Singh said that Dhanbad is a strategically important location that witnesses a large number of people coming in everyday and it was therefore necessary to ensure everyone’s safety.

“Immediate treatment would be carried out for those found Covid positive during the test. We have decided to launch the Covid Testing at Dhanbad Railway station from March 4 in view of increasing infection in several other states,” he said.

States like Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Gujarat, Bengal and others are reporting a spike of cases over the past few weeks.

Singh said that earlier several Railway Protection Force personnel and other staff who came into contact with Covid-19 patients also got infected.

Passengers had to undergo Covid-19 tests at the railway station as a part of a drive launched in September last year, but it gradually got discontinued as the situation improved.