In a bid to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, only the government personnel engaged in provision of essential services would be allowed to travel by local trains in Mumbai from the next week, a release by the Konkan divisional commissioner said on Saturday night.
The restriction, which would effectively shut down the train services, Mumbai’s lifeline, would come into effect from midnight of Sunday, March 22, the release said.
Apart from the government officials involved in provision of essential services (who will have to produce their ID-cards), only those who need urgent medical aid would be allowed to travel, said the release by Divisional Commissioner Shivaji Daund.
Those who are traveling by local train to reach railway terminus for boarding a long-distance train will also be allowed on inspection of their journey tickets.
Earlier, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope had said the government would be compelled to shut down the local train services and other modes of public transport if crowds did not thin.
Maharashtra has recorded 64 cases of coronavirus so far, including 19 in Mumbai.
On Saturday, officials from the Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Pune civic bodies went around pasting notices at office buildings asking them to shut down with immediate effect. Employees of several IT companies complained online to various agencies alleging that they were being forced to attend work even after cases of Covid-19 were detected in their premises.
First Published: Mar 22, 2020 10:27 AM IST
