As thousands reach Mumbai station amid Covid surge, Railways asks people not to panic and avoid crowding
Mumbai/IBNS: As thousands gathered in Mumbai's Lokmanya Tilak Terminus to board long-distance trains a day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced strict restrictions on public movement to check the spread of COVID-19, Central Railway appealed to the people not to panic and avoid crowding the stations.
In order to control the large number of people reaching the station, fearing complete shutdown in the coming days, the Railway Protection Force and the Government Railway Police deployed extra force outside the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus.
The Maharashtra government imposed severe restrictions on public movement for the next 15 days across the state, excluding essential services.
"Section 144 of the CrPC, prohibiting assembly of five or more people at one spot, will be in force during the period," Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said.
The restrictions will be effective from 8 pm on Wednesday and remain in force till 7 am on May 1.
Central Railway's chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar was quoted as saying in the media that only passengers with confirmed tickets are allowed to board the special trains and they should reach the stations one-and-a-half hours before the departure time of the train.
He also said people should not panic and avoid crowding the station.
The Central Railway is monitoring the waiting lists and keeping an eye if there is a demand for tickets to a particular destination, he added, the media reports said.
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