Rising fuel prices and the inflation have raised concerns for many commuters in the city of Mumbai, who are now avoiding travel by road. To save costs, people have preferred local train travel as it is both cheap and fast to commute. However, the public transport services were limited during the lockdown which was imposed due to the rise in COVID-19 cases in Mumbai. Despite this, officials have informed that the number of passengers in the local trains is increasing day by day.
It is being said that the commuters are travelling without tickets. On the other hand, some commuters have not followed the directed COVID-19 guidelines and are travelling without masks.
To ensure people following the norms, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), during the pandemic, had appointed marshals to take action against passengers who did not wear masks at railway stations. The special ticket inspection team was also forms to keep a check on the same, and as per reports, they have collected fines worth lakhs of rupees from passengers violating the rules.
Data reveals that from April 17 to June 2, 2021, fines worth over INR 2.4 lakh has been recovered from 1269 passengers who were caught travelling without mask. Moreover, INR 9.5 crore has been levied from 1.5 lakh passengers travelling in Mumbai local and express trains in Maharashtra, between April 1 and May 31.
Also Read: World Environment Day: Check out the measures undertaken by the Indian Railways
In May, action was taken against 54,000 passengers, of which 32,000 passengers were travelling in the Mumbai local train. Necessary measures and decision have been implemented by the railways has as per the norms mentioned under the Disaster Management Act. In the month of April and May, over 2018 were fined for flouting the norms and fine worth over INR 10 lakh was collected from the passengers
Observing the same, Central Railway has also appealed that only passengers working for the essential services should travel by the local train as it will avoid crowing and also help in preventing the spread of COVID-19. However, the Railway Passenger Association has demanded the resumption of services for general public.
Also Read: Mumbai To Follow Level 3 Unlock Plan. Here's What's Allowed From June 7
On the lockdown front, a total of 18 districts have been categorised as Level 1 in Maharashtra and as per reports, all restrictions will be lifted in these districts. However, a few marked as level 5 have been categorised as Red Zones and will be under complete lockdown.
Share
Tweet
