Mumbai metro to resume operations from October 19

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The Maharashtra government on October 14 announced resumption of metro rail services in Mumbai from October 15 in a graded manner under its mission 'Begin Again'.

In a new set of guidelines, the state government also allowed reopening of all state-run and private libraries from October 15 with strict COVID-19 protocols.

However, soon after the state government's announcement, the Mumbai Metro tweeted to inform that it will resume operations from October 19.

“Mumbai Metro is thankful to the Government of Maharashtra for allowing metro operations. We have already initiated safety inspections and trial runs, and are set to restart passenger operations from Monday, 19th October 2020, 8:30 am,” tweeted Mumbai Metro

@MumMetro is thankful to Government of Maharashtra for allowing metro operations. We have already initiated safety inspections and trial runs, and are set to restart passenger operations from Monday, 19th October 2020, 8:30 am. #MissionBeginAgain #HaveANiceDay

— Mumbai Metro (@MumMetro) October 14, 2020

The Maharashtra government also allowed business-to-business exhibitions outside containment zones.

Local weekly bazars, including that of animals, will also be allowed to reopen outside containment zones.

With an aim to reduce crowd, markets and shops will be allowed to remain open for two additional hours till 9 pm from October 15.

Significantly, the government has decided to stop stamping of domestic passengers arriving at different airports after COVID-19 testing.

Similarly, the health check up and stamping of passengers at railway stations will also be stopped.

Meanwhile, a total of 8,522 new COVID-19 cases and 187 deaths were reported in Maharashtra on October 12, taking the total number of cases to 15,43,837 in the state.

According to the data, as many as 15,356 discharges were also reported in the state.

(With inputs from PTI and ANI)