As many as 1,000 vehicles were seized by traffic police till Tuesday afternoon as a huge traffic jam was seen on the Western Express Highway for the second consecutive day. Despite the lockdown, people were seen hitting the roads. Mumbai continues to be in the red zone and despite some relief that is offered under lockdown 4.0, efforts are being to make sure there is no overcrowding.
Madhukar Pandey, the Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) told The Mumbai Mirror that a large number of motorists were seen on the roads despite the appeal made by police on social media to restrict the movement of vehicles on roads. He added that since Mumbai is still a red zone, there are no relaxations on the movement of road travel.
He also mentioned that the traffic was seen on the roads since there are security checkpoints all across the city. Currently, Mumbai Traffic Police has set up security checks at over 110 locations on the arterial roads to ensure that vehicular movement remains restricted in the city.
According to reports, people had started making up stories that they were out on the roads because of an emergency or to visit hospitals. However, the police have been checking out these stories and people who have no valid reason to be out on the streets during this lockdown will have to face police action.
Even on Monday evening traffic was seen on Western Express Highway (WEH). On Tuesday morning, there was heavy traffic on Bandra-Borivali. Apart from this, there was a crowd at the Bandra station too with migrants queueing up to catch the Shramik Express from Mumbai to Bihar. Police had managed to disperse the crowd at this location too and only 1,000 people who had pre-registered for the journey were allowed to board the train.
Coming back to the traffic on Western Express Highway, Mumbai Commissioner of Police (CP) Param Bir Singh, on Monday, had taken to Twitter to remind people that the lockdown was still in place. He wrote, "Gentle Reminder Mumbaikars. Mumbai being a RED ZONE is yet to see any relaxations from earlier rules, under Lockdown 4.0. Vehicles travelling without valid permission or for non-emergency, DAY or NIGHT, will be impounded & driver to face strict action. It’s for your safety first".
Meanwhile, the traffic department officials have stated that the seized vehicles can be released after 12-36 hours following detention after paying fines of up to Rs. 2,000.
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