Mumbai Local News: GRP to take serious action against commuters without masks

Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Mumbai have reduced significantly over the last few months, and considering the same, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) eased restrictions in the city which brought a sigh of relief to the citizens. Meanwhile, the state government also allowed fully vaccinated citizens to commute in the Mumbai local train after the general public staged several protests for the same.

However, officials from the railways have noted that the citizens have taken a casual approach while commuting on the local train. Many passengers have been seen violating the COVID-19 rules during the journey and observing the same, the government railway police (GRP) recently registered a total of 12 cases against the citizens. The figures were released by the GRP for 2021 and the same has been filed under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which talks about the disobedient behaviour. 

Data shared the department reveals that one out of the 12 cases were from Kurla and Vashi, two from Andheri and CSTM, and six from Kalyan GRP. The number has seen a rise in comparison to 2020, where only five cases were filed by the GRP officials. A report regarding the same was published in the Free Press Journal. 

Quoting a few GRP officials, the publication reported that the citizens have started living their regular normal lives post the restrictions were eased, however, the COVID protocol is not being followed. The city was one of the worst affected in the second COVID wave and taking this casual approach while commuting on the train is not acceptable. Since the people have lost the fear and have become careless, the GRP had to intervene and file reports under Sec 188. 

Furthermore, reports shared by the civic body reveals that the railways has fined over 24,000 passengers for not wearing a mask in the train, and a total of INR 50 lakh has been collected recently. 

While implementing the COVID-19 protocol in 2020, the state government of Maharashtra and the Union Ministry of Health and Welfare had clearly warned that the department would be forced to take action against citizens flouting the rules when in public, and the violations registered during the lockdown orders have been registered under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.