Maharashtra govt urges Railways to allow all women to board Mumbai local trains

In a big step towards restoring normalcy in Mumbai, the Maharashtra government on Friday requested the Railways to allow all women passengers to board local trains from October 17. Since the commencement of the nationwide coronavirus-induced lockdown on March 25, Mumbai Suburban Railway has been restricted for general passengers. Kishor Raje Nimbalkar- the Secretary, Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation Department wrote to the General Managers of Central Railway and Western Railway in this regard.

The state government has proposed that women passengers in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region with valid tickets should be allowed entry in the stations between 11 am- 3 pm and 7 pm onwards. QR codes shall not be required during the aforesaid timings. However, it specified that the people working in essential services as notified by the Maharashtra government can access train services throughout the day. Moreover, Nimbalkar requested the Railways to increase the frequency of local trains as per the enhanced demand. 

Read: Central Railway To Run 28 More Services Of Local Trains

Read: Travelling During Festive Season? Indian Railways Issues COVID Guidelines To Be Followed

Maharashtra eases restrictions

Currently, there are 15,76,062 novel coronavirus cases in which 13,44,368 patients have been discharged and 41,502 fatalities have been reported. On Wednesday, the Maharashtra government announced further relaxations in the Unlock 5 phase, allowing more activities to be restarted in areas outside containment zones. For instance, Metro Rail was allowed to operate from October 15 in a graded manner. Moreover, up to 50% of teaching and non-teaching staff can be called to the schools at a time for online teaching and related works from October 15.

All government and private libraries were permitted to function once again from October 15 with COVID-19 protocols of social distancing and sanitization. In order to reduce crowding, markets and shops can remain open from 9 am to 9 pm from October 15. While the domestic passengers arriving at airports in Maharashtra will continue to be checked for COVID-19 symptoms, they shall no longer be stamped with indelible ink. The state government once again stressed the use of face coverings, social distancing, following the practice of Work From Home as far as possible and staggering the work hours.

Read: Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India's Active Cases Falls To 8 Lakhs; Ghulam Nabi Azad Infected