Maharashtra govt announces effective shut-down of Mumbai local trains

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In a bid to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, only the government personnel engaged in provision of essential services would be allowed to travel by local trains in Mumbai from the next week, a release by the Konkan divisional commissioner said on Saturday night.

The restriction, which will effectively shut down the train services, Mumbai's lifeline, will come into effect from midnight of Sunday, March 22, the release said.

Apart from the government officials involved in provision of essential services (who will have to produce their id-cards), only those who need urgent medical aid would be allowed to travel, said the release by divisional commissioner Shivaji Daund.

Those who are traveling by local train to reach railway terminus for boarding a long-distance train will also be allowed on inspection of their journey tickets. Earlier, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope had said that the government would be compelled to shut down the local train services and other modes of public transport if crowds did not thin.

Maharashtra has recorded 64 cases of coronavirus so far, including 19 in Mumbai.