Iqbal Singh Chahal, Commissioner of the BMC, addressing the concerns of the people regarding travel has stated that the local trains in Mumbai would only resume for the general public when the surge in cases of coronavirus in the city halts.
With the resumption in the lockdown relaxations, the people in the city of Mumbai have faced major inconveniences with regards to the mode of travel. Moreover, the citizens have been demanding the allowance to travel in the Mumbai local for a while now. In this backdrop, the BMC Commissioner has made his position clear with regards to the general public travelling in the local trains.
Chahal, further elucidating on the situation, stated that at the moment, cases of coronavirus have been witnessing a rise in the suburbs. Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali, Vasai-Virar and the MMR areas are in a precarious situation. In view of this, Chahal added that it is crucial to control the number of coronavirus cases in the area. Otherwise, the number of patients will increase again which can be problematic.
Furthermore, he stated, Mumbai’s case growth rate is 1 per cent. Until and unless the MMR reaches where Mumbai is, with a doubling rate of 64 days, the local trains cannot be allowed to resume operations for the general public.
On July 22, hundreds of commuters agitated at the Nalasopara ST (state transport bus) stand and got down onto the train tracks at the station demanding that they should be allowed to travel in the local trains. This incident took place after there the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRT) buses did not arrive at the bus stop. Every day, nearly 100 to 150 buses leave Nalasopara ST bus stand for people working in non-essential sectors.
The local trains which resumed operations on June 15, after nearly two months of remaining non-operational due to the coronavirus induced lockdown, is currently plying only the essential workers.
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