The Maharashtra government on Friday allowed the local train services for women in Mumbai to resume from Saturday, reported ANI. Women will now be allowed to access train services between 11 am and 3 pm, and again from 7 pm till the last service.
“During the said period, entry may be allowed to all ladies having valid tickets and to all emergency staff as well,” the state government said in a statement. “QR codes will not be required for ladies travelling during the said time period.”
The order, issued by Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation Department Secretary Kishor Raje Nimbalkar, is valid for both Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan Region, according to Times Now.
Mumbai’s suburban train services were suspended in March, when the Centre imposed a nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus. Limited services resumed on June 15 when only essential service providers with a special pass were allowed to board these trains.
As part of its Unlock 5.0 guidelines, the Maharashtra government has allowed metro services in Mumbai to resume in a graded manner. Business-to-business exhibitions have also been permitted since Thursday. State-run as well as private-run libraries have also got permission to function from 9 am to 9 pm with necessary Covid-19 precautions.
Since October 15, local weekly markets, including those for animals, have been allowed to operate while regular shops can function for two additional hours.
The government, however, has not allowed the reopening of religious places. Earlier this week, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari were locked in a war of words over the reopening of religious places. In his letter to Thackeray on Monday, Koshyari had questioned his decision to keep religious places in the state closed and sarcastically asked if he had turned secular. On Tuesday, the chief minister told the governor that he did not need a “certificate” of Hindutva from him.
Apart from religious places, the government has also not permitted the reopening of gyms, swimming pools, schools, colleges, educational institutions and cinema halls. On September 30, the Centre had issued the guidelines for the fifth phase of “unlock”, allowing cinema halls to reopen at 50% capacity, and permitting states to take a call on the opening of schools from October 15. Besides this, it had allowed swimming pools to be used for the training of sportspersons from the same date.
Earlier this month, the Maharashtra government had reopened its restaurants and bars from October 5 in accordance to the Centre’s unlock guidelines.
Maharashtra has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in India. The state has so far reported 15.64 lakh coronavirus infections and the toll stood at 41,196, according to Union health ministry’s data.
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