Maharashtra govt requests railways to allow all women to travel by Mumbai local trains

The Maharashtra government has requested Central Railways, CSMT (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus) and Western Railways to allow female passengers to commute on local trains in the Mumbai region from Saturday. A senior railway official said that the proposal has been forwarded to the Railway Board. Currently, due to COVID-19, only restricted people including essentials service staff are allowed to travel by local trains in Mumbai. 

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Maharashtra To Railways: 'Allow women to travel by Mumbai locals'

Secretary, Disaster Management, relief and rehabilitation Department in a letter to the Railways has requested the Railway authorities to make local trains in Mumbai available for women from 11 am to 3 pm, and later from 7 pm till the end of the local services. The letter also said that amid COVID-19, entry to all the women carrying valid tickets should be allowed. As of now, people who are allowed to travel through local trains in Mumbai have been given special QR code passes. 

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The letter has also asked the Railways to increase the frequency of the local trains in Mumbai so that the ongoing services for emergency service personnel are not impacted, and they can continue as before. The Western Railway has also written a letter to the Maharashtra government, asking it to assess the number of passengers that are likely to increase so that the COVID-19 protocols can be planned accordingly. It has also proposed a meeting between Railway officials and the state government so that the authorities can workout on this plan to make local trains in Mumbai available for the female passengers. 

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COVID-19 outbreak in Maharashtra 

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread globally, Maharashtra remains the worst affected state in the country. So far, Maharashtra has recorded over 15,64,615 positive Coronavirus cases, out of which 13,30,483 have recovered and 41,196 have died. As per the latest updates from MoHFW, in the past 24 hours, over 10226 new cases, 337 deaths and 13714 recoveries have been recorded. Currently, the total number of COVID-19 active cases in Maharashtra are 1,92,936. 

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(With agency inputs)