Mumbai dons deserted look as ‘Janata Curfew’ comes into effect
The curfew call received a positive response from the city as people stayed indoors and most public places in the otherwise bustling city remained hauntingly empty on Sunday morning (Pictures from top left to right – Kalanagar [via Ramesh Shetty], Dombivali, Sion Highway [via Dr. Binu Varghese], Western Express Highway [via Neha Sharma], Malad [via Sandeep Varma] and Dadar Circle [via Dr. Binu Varghese])
Earlier this week, the PM Modi proposed the day-long curfew between 7 am and 9 pm as part of social distancing to check the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The call received a positive response from the city as people stayed indoors and most public places in the otherwise bustling city remained hauntingly empty on Sunday morning.
Even crowded markets in areas like Dadar, Prabhadevi, Bandra, and Goregaon were devoid of crowds, as most vendors shut shops on their own accord.
Hardly any movement was seen at some of the busiest railway stations like Dadar, Andheri, and CSMT, where thousands of commuters can be seen jostling to get inside the overcrowded trains.
Mumbai: People providing essential services do not need to take part in self-imposed #JantaCurfew. Maharashtra has the highest number of positive Coronavirus cases in the country; Visuals from Dadar railway station pic.twitter.com/sErZCggmy9
— ANI (@ANI) March 22, 2020
The handful of people that were seen travelling were likely those engaged in the provision of essential services as they have been exempted from the curfew.
Similar conditions prevailed on the otherwise traffic-prone Western and Eastern Express Highways, which are used by lakhs of commuters every day. The arterial roads in most areas were no different.
Mumbai’s Eastern Freeway is completely deserted. #JuntaCurfew pic.twitter.com/ArLN7XmzIo
— Jitendra Dixit /जीतेन्द्र दीक्षित (@jitendradixit) March 22, 2020
In line with the curfew calls, public transport has been curtailed in the city today as fewer suburban services are running.
Local trains on the Central line will see 60 percent services as against the normal 70 percent on Sundays. The Western Railway, on the other hand, has cancelled four services, two from Virar to Dahanu Road, and two from Dahanu Road to Dadar and Churchgate.
The Mumbai Metro and Mumbai Monorail were suspended for the day, while BEST buses are running according to their holiday schedule.
In a related note, the Divisional Commissioner of Konkan Region announced that local trains will be off-limits for the general public from Monday and only those engaged in essential services or travelling for medical or other emergencies will be allowed to travel.
