Madurai (Tamil Nadu) [India], Mar 15 : In the wake of coronavirus scare, the Southern Railway has launched a massive awareness campaign to fight the threat of virus' outbreak, said Southern Railways spokesperson on Sunday.
"Among the host of preventive measures that have been put in place in view of the advisory from Railway Board, the Southern Railways has withdrawn the supply of woolen blankets to AC coach passengers," the spokesperson informed the media here.
The spokesperson also said, "While the woolen blankets will be given only on demand by the passengers of AC coaches, the pillows, pillow covers, and bed sheets will continue to be supplied.
This change in the blanket facility is for a period of next one month or till further notification, the Railways official added.
"The disinfectants are being sprayed on the exterior and interiors of all the coaches of the primary maintenance trains of Southern Railway," the spokesperson said.
In the wake of spurt in cases of coronavirus across the country, the Central government on Saturday decided to treat the deadly virus as a "notified disaster".
The World Health Orgzation (WHO) has declared that Europe has become the new 'epicenter' of the global coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 15 lakh people with over 4,000 deaths.
( With inputs from ANI )