Local trains for all, Diwali to coincide? BMC wary of Covid-19 cases surge in Mumbai

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday expressed concern about a spike in Covid-19 cases in Mumbai after the Maharashtra government proposed to the

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday expressed concern about a spike in Covid-19 cases in Mumbai after the Maharashtra government proposed to the Western Railway (WR) and Central Railway (CR) to let all commuters use the suburban train services. The civic body said allowing the general public to use local trains around Diwali is likely to lead to a surge in Covid-19 infections, as people are more likely to then step out during the festive season.

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“One cannot deny that there is likely to be a surge in Covid-19 cases because of the state government’s proposed move. Public is expected to mingle and go out for their Diwali shopping,” said Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner (AMC), BMC. “Wearing of masks, sanitising hands and other precautionary measures must be complied with.”

The government on Wednesday had written to the general managers of both zonal railways and proposed three time slots during the day for general commuters, while two time slots for essential services staff. The government had also sought a ladies special train every hour.

Dr Shashank Joshi, a member of the state government’s Covid-19 taskforce, said, “We need to understand that train services are already functional and we are increasing the load now by opening for all. There are time slots for it and it should not be an issue. “But, we need to be careful and cautious, and masking and sanitsation should be followed. At the same time, overcrowding at stations and inside trains should not happen.”

The WR and CR, in their resp-onses to the state’s proposal, had on Thursday sent letters raising concerns about overcrowding.

In its letter, WR suggested capping daily passengers to 9.6 lakh and wrote, “Even if we start all 1,367 local train services, we can transport a maximum of 9.6 lakh passengers daily, which is much less than the 35 lakh passengers who were travelling in the pre-Covid regime.” CR told the state it can transport 12.4 lakh passengers daily if all 1,774 of its local train services resume.

Approximately 45 lakh passengers travelled daily by CR prior to the lockdown. “Hence, the state government needs to take a call for means of transportation for the balance 33 lakh passengers,” states CR’s letter.

The state, however, said these concerns are unwarranted as guidelines are in place to restrict the number of commuters.

Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said the Railways should not play politics over the issue. He said the state has taken “every precaution to avoid the crowding in the trains”, despite which the Railways is raising doubts over operations. “Railways should cooperate with the state government in the interest of commuters in Mumbai,” said Deshmukh.

Meanwhile, Joshi said along with further unlocking, the government also plans to increase testing. “Currently, BMC is testing around 15,000 samples daily and it is trying to reach 20,000 tests daily by optimising capacity. Lastly, citizens should still understand that we should go out only when it’s for a purpose, and avoid when not necessary.”

The BMC, too, plans to ramp up its daily testing mechanism after the state government’s proposed move. The civic body plans to organise free testing camps in Mumbai. “We have sufficient hospital beds that can cope up with a possible spike in Covid-19 cases,” Kakani said.

Medical experts feel people need to be responsible and follow norms to avoid catching the infection, as number of cases rising is inevitable.

Subhasree Ray, clinical nutritionist and public health professional, said, “Post the festive season, there will be an inevitable rise in Covid-19 cases. Until there’s a vaccine, the focus should be on enhanced testing, early detection and hospitalisation, preventing complications and mortality. Most importantly, citizens must not behave complacently and adhere to basic preventive protocols to avoid contracting the virus.”