CR, WR see surge in daily commuters

MUMBAI: With the easing of Covid lockdown relaxations by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) based on the directives of the Maharashtra government, both the Central and Western Railway are witnessing an increase in the number of passengers travelling by local trains.

The Maharashtra government on Monday issued orders under ‘Mission Break the Chain’ to relax curbs in 14 districts in the state. The decision for Mumbai and Thane was to be taken by the local disaster management authorities, according to the order. The BMC on Monday allowed shops and essential and non-essential establishments to remain open till 10pm. Hotels and restaurants are allowed to stay open till 4pm and all indoor and outdoor sports activities, apart from swimming, are allowed.

On the Western Railway, around 700,000 passengers travelled on July 31. The number was around 1,300,000 on Monday, on Tuesday around 1,100,000 and on Wednesday around 1,000,000. On the Central Railway, around 900,000 passengers travelled on July 31, around 1,700,000 on Monday, around 1,400,000 on Tuesday and 1,300,000 on Wednesday on the main, harbour and trans-harbour lines.

General public are not allowed to travel by local trains currently. Only people working in essential care, government officers and those travelling for medical purposes are allowed to commute. On an average, last week nearly 800,000 people travelled on CR daily and 500,000 on the WR.

The railways have also witnessed an increase in the number of ticketless commuters. Between April and July, 304,000 passengers were fined for travelling without ticket and identification on the CR and 234,000 were fined on the WR. A total of 90,000 commuters were fined by the Central Railway for travelling ticketless in July, as opposed to 62,000 in June. “We are seeing an increase in passengers over the past three days compared to last week, but it would be early to determine the exact increase and the cause. We have increased checks at the entry and exit points of the railway station and are also checking inside the compartments,” said a senior CR official. Passenger associations have stated that people are desperate to travel. “A number of people travelling without tickets as they have no other option left for their livelihood. This number will increase. Permitting shops to remain open till 10 pm and not allowing working people to travel is wrong. Many people working in small shops lost their jobs and are desperate,” said Subhash Gupta, president, Rail Yatri Parishad.

PEOPLE WORKING IN ESSENTIAL CARE, GOVT OFFICERS, THOSE GOING FOR MED REASONS ARE ALLOWED TO COMMUTE

PRATIK CHORGE/HT PHOTO A healthcare volunteer inoculates an elderly at Dadar, on Thursday.