n Mumbai, the government has curtailed public transport with restrictions on public against using local trains, considered the lifeline of the city.
As India goes under unofficial lockdown following self-imposed 'Janata Curfew' on Sunday to counter the coronavirus spread, Mumbai woke up to empty roads and deserted public places with restrictions on public transport and closure of establishments.
The call of 'Janata curfew' was given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation on Thursday. He proposed the day-long self-imposed curfew between 7 am and 9 pm as part of social distancing to check the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Maharashtra has recorded 64 cases of coronavirus so far, including 19 in Mumbai, as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 315 on Saturday.
In Mumbai, the government has curtailed public transport with restrictions on public against using local trains, considered the lifeline of the city.
Only the government personnel engaged in the provision of essential services would be allowed to travel by local trains on Sunday, a restriction which will continue throughout the next week.
State government staff, Police and other security officers were posted at the gates of 125 stations in the city and checked IDs of those wanting to board the trains. Government officials involved in the provision of essential services will be asked to produce their id-cards before they are allowed to board the trains.
More than 75 lakh people commute every day by using these Mumbai's suburban trains.
The services will, however, will not be completely stopped. Local trains on the Central line will see 60% services as against the normal 70% while the Western Railway has cancelled four services, two from Virar to Dahanu Road, and two from Dahanu Road to Dadar and Churchgate.
The Mumbai Metro and Mumbai Monorail will remain also suspended for the day. BEST buses will continue to run according to their holiday schedule.
Mumbai's iconic 'Kaali-Peeli' taxis will also reduce their services to only 15%. The number of cabs deployed by aggregators like Ola and Uber will also be low due to decreased demand.
The number of auto-rickshaws plying on the road will also be substantially low.
However, 85% of BEST buses are likely to be on the roads.
Most of the establishments in the city, barring food joints and pharmacies, will also be closed following an order by the Mumbai Municipal Commissioner.
BMC Commissioner Pravin Pardeshi on Friday ordered the immediate closure of schools, cinema halls, malls, gyms, swimming pools, pubs, discotheques, amusement parks, and banned public functions.
Restaurants, dhabas, cafes and other eateries can continue to operate if they can self-impose 50% customer capacity and maintain a distance of 3 feet between two customers, the order by BMC Commissioner said.
All "private, corporate establishments" are to be shut down, the order said.
The order has exempted establishments or firms providing essential services such as drinking water, electricity, banking, sewerage, healthcare, media, port, telecom, vendors of food, groceries and vegetables, petrol pumps, IT services, data centres, e-commerce of essential items including food, among others.
As number of cases in Maharashtra reached 63, Health Minister Rajesh Tope appealed to all to practice social distancing to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
A total of 271 cases have been confirmed across the country, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Saturday.
Prime Minister Modi on Thursday called for a 'Janata curfew' from 7 am to 9 pm on March 22, saying no citizen, barring those in essential services, should get out of their houses. The experience will serve the nation well and will show India's readiness to take on the coronavirus challenge, he said.
"This Sunday, that is on March 22, all citizens must follow this curfew from 7 am until 9 pm. During this curfew, we shall neither leave our homes, nor get onto the streets and refrain from roaming about in our societies or areas. Only those associated with emergency and essential services may leave their homes," Modi said during his address to the nation.
The move was aimed at creating awareness about "social distancing" which is a powerful weapon in the fight against coronavirus.
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