No Mumbai local for general public till pandemic over, says Vijay Wadettiwar

State minister Vijay Wadettiwar on Monday said the general public will not be allowed to travel in Mumbai suburban trains till the Covid-19 pandemic is over

State minister Vijay Wadettiwar on Monday said the general public will not be allowed to travel in Mumbai suburban trains till the Covid-19 pandemic is over. “Mumbai locals will not be started (for general public) till Covid-19 is over,” said Wadettiwar.

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Reacting to the minister’s statement, passenger associations have warned of protests. “If such a scenario comes then there will be protests by passengers all over Mumbai. Local trains should be immediately resumed for the general public,” said Subhash Gupta, president, Rail Yatri Parishad. He said they do not believe in Wadettiwar’s statement and said only chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will take the decision.

Railway authorities refused to comment on the statement and added decisions communicated by the state government will be followed. “We get an official letter from the state government whenever there is any addition or change for operation of local trains. The official notification of the state government will be implemented,” said a senior railway official who did not wanted to be named.

Dr Wiqar Shaikh, professor of medicine, Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Hospital, called it an impractical decision. “Covid-19 will remain for at least two more years and you cannot keep the commuters away for so long,” said Shaikh.

Mumbai suburban railway network is the largest public transport system in Mumbai that used to ferry over 7 million commuters daily before local train services were stopped for general public.

Presently, more than 2 million passengers travel by local trains every day. Currently, only people working in essential services, passengers travelling for medical purposes are allowed to commute by local trains.