The railways department in Maharashtra and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are taking necessary steps and strict action against those who flout the coronavirus (COVID-19) guidelines issued by the state government.
As per the defined rules, it is mandatory for the citizens to wear a mask and maintain social distance keeping the COVID-19 spread in mind. However, despite the same, many travellers have been noticed travelling without a mask in the Mumbai local and observing the same, authorities have been imposing fine from such passengers.
Data released by the Railways confirms that the Western Railway (WR) has caught over 1200 passengers without a mask, between February 1 and July 19, 2021. Fine amount of over INR 1.63 lakh has been recovered from these passengers.
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Rules regarding the mask have been imposed for several months now, and the state government has been raising awareness regarding the same frequently, thereby asking passengers to remain safe. However, some travelers have been disobeying the rules, thus increasing the risk of COVID-19 spread.
Meanwhile, the demand for the local trains for general public has been raised several times by the citizens. The local trains were initially allowed only for those employed under the essential services, however, the permit was later given for teachers and other staff members too, keeping the urgent work and deadlines in mind. On the other hand, the railways has also caught several passengers travelling without a ticket or using fake IDs to commute on the Mumbai local train.
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In order to control and avoid such instances, the government has planned to launch Universal Travel Pass which will help officials conduct thorough check of the passenger before allowing them to commute in the train. Discussion regarding the launch of these cards is underway and once announced, selected employees under essential services will be able to use these cards which will be embedded with the QR codes for security purposes.
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