Mumbai Local Train news: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope gives BIG update

The Health Minister of Maharashtra Rajesh Tope has clarified, on Tuesday, that the decision regarding local train services in Mumbai is currently on hold and a definitive call regarding the same would be taken by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray as the state, on Monday, relaxed COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. 

Speaking about the same, Top said, "We are not saying no, but the decision for relaxation in local trains has been put on hold. Many aspects have to be considered before taking a call. The CM will discuss it further," News18 reported.

In July, Aslam Shaikh, Maharashtra's state cabinet minister had said that a decision regarding allowing citizens who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to travel on Mumbai local trains would be taken soon. 

Notably, local train services were hit again and were discontinued for the general public on April 15. This was the second time it happened after March 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic had just hit the country. 

On Monday, the Bombay High Court also posed a question to the Maharashtra government as to why citizens who had received both doses of the coronavirus vaccine were not allowed to use local train services. 

A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni asked, "What was even the purpose of taking both doses of the vaccine if citizens were expected to stay inside their homes even after taking the anti-COVID-19 jabs."

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government, on Monday, announced new guidelines for the state and further eased lockdown-like curbs in the districts that have a low COVID-19 positivity rate. 

Speaking to reporters in Sangli, CM Thackeray said that allowing the general public to avail of local train services is difficult "in the first phase" given the COVID-19 caseload. 

The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) also said that the easing in restriction is not applicable for Mumbai city, Mumbai suburbs, and Thane, in addition to, Kolhapur, Pune, Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Solapur, Ahmednagar, Beed, Raigad, and Palghar.