In a substantial development, the Maharashtra government has alerted the Bombay High Court that it is likely to take a decision on whether to permit all persons to board the suburban local trains next week.
As a result, the Railway Passengers Federation has decided to suspend the railway agitation immediately. On the other hand, the state government indicated that high-level deliberations are on as to how common persons, besides those involved in essential services, can be accommodated to use the suburban railway system in order to manage the crowd better amidst the pandemic.
According to reports, the state government was responding to a division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish S Kulkarni, who were hearing public interest litigations (PILs) filed by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa (BCMG), and other lawyers.
Meanwhile, earlier on December 30, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope had stated that a decision to allow general commuters to board the suburban trains in Mumbai will be taken after considering the trend of COVID-19 cases in New Year. He further added that the state government is keeping a close watch on the situation and if cases do not spiral, a decision on resumption of local train services for the general public will be taken.
Currently, only certain categories of commuters, including those providing essential services, and women, can travel by local trains in the Mumbai region after obtaining a special pass due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. The local trains, with the COVID-19 pandemic protocols, were opened gradually for essential services employees and later more categories of travellers were added, but full-scale operations still remain suspended.
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