The Central Railways has increased the price of platform tickets at some key stations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region to avoid overcrowding in view of the coronavirus pandemic, PTI reported on Tuesday.
The Central Railways Chief Public Relations Officer Shivaji Sutar on Tuesday said that tickets would now cost Rs 50 instead of the earlier Rs 10 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Dadar and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Mumbai, and neighbouring Kalyan, Thane, Panvel and Bhiwandi Road stations.
The new rates came into force on February 24 and will remain effective till June 15, he said. “The decision was taken to prevent over-crowding at these stations during the summer travel rush,” Sutar said.
Maharashtra is the worst-affected state by the coronavirus pandemic in India. It has been contributing the most to the surge in coronavirus cases in the country. Maharashtra reported 6,397 new cases on Monday, taking the overall count to 21,61,467. Thirty more deaths pushed the state’s toll to 52,184.
There has also been a surge in infection in Mumbai since the second week of February. The city has so far reported over 3.25 lakh coronavirus cases and more than 11,400 deaths because of the infection.
Amid the sudden increase in cases, which a few experts have linked to the reopening of schools and suburban train services in Mumbai, restrictions were put in place in multiple districts. A curfew was imposed in Yavatmal till Monday evening, while night curfews have been imposed in Solapur, Aurangabad and Nashik. The lockdown in the Amravati district was extended till March 8. In Nagpur, schools, colleges and coaching classes will remain shut till March 7, while major markets will remain shut on weekends till then. Educational institutions have also been shut till March 31 in Jalna.
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