10-day lockdown enforced in Thane, Navi Mumbai & Kalyan-Dombivali
The lockdown in Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali & Mira Bhayandar came into effect on Thursday, while the one in Navi Mumbai will be enforced from Friday midnight (Representational Image, Courtesy: Reuters)
Amid the steep rise in coronavirus cases, the municipal corporations of Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali, Mira Bhayandar, and Navi Mumbai have decided to enforce a complete lockdown for 10 days.
During the lockdown, essential services and medical emergencies will be exempted while inter-city buses, auto-rickshaws, and taxis will not be allowed to operate.
The lockdown in areas under the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC), and Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation came into effect on Thursday (July 2) and will remain applicable till July 12.
The municipal corporations of Navi Mumbai and Panvel, meanwhile, will enforce complete lockdown from July 3 midnight.
According to officials, several roads, market areas, and other public places are becoming increasingly congested with the introduction of various concessions under the ”Mission Begin Again” order.
The increased activity has put additional strain on the health system, police and district administration, forcing authorities to enforce a lockdown.
“We want to break the chain of coronavirus infection. People working in essential services will be exempted from the lockdown and will be allowed to move out for work,” KDMC Commissioner Vijay Suryavanshi told reporters.
In Thane, non-essential services will not operate during this period nor would movement of vehicles for purposes other than medical and essential travel be allowed.
Further, inter-city bus services, auto-rickshaws, taxis, and app-based cabs will not be allowed to operate.
“Medical emergencies are exempted. A patient can be accompanied by only one person in a cab or auto-rickshaw, a TMC official said.
“Banks, ATMs, IT, ITeS, India Post, internet and data services and medical shops will be exempted from the lockdown,” the official added.
Similar restrictions will be in place in Kalyan-Dombivali and Mira-Bhayandar.
In Navi Mumbai, where the lockdown will come into effect from Friday midnight, shops selling foods, bakery products, and vegetables will be allowed to operate between 9 am and 5 pm and milk outlets from 5 am to 10 am.
There will be no intercity bus service and private vehicles, auto-rickshaws, and taxis will not be allowed to ply for ten days except in the case of a medical emergency.
Vehicles heading for Mumbai or coming from Mumbai, however, will be allowed to pass through Navi Mumbai.
The lockdown comes amid the rise in COVID-19 cases, which have surpassed 9,100 in Thane city, 6,800 in Navi Mumbai, and reached almost 7,000 in Kalyan.
