Ruckus at Mumbai's Nalasopara station, people demand to be allowed to travel on local trains

Mumbai: As Mumbai continues to struggle with the rising coronavirus COVID-19 cases, people gathered at Nalasopara station on the western line of Mumbai's local trains and created a ruckus demanding that common people be allowed on local trains.

In view of the COVID-19 epidemic, the local train facility had been allowed for people working in essential services only. Mumbai's western line runs from Churchgate to Dahanu. 

Before the loc-down, about 3 million people used to travel on this line of the local train daily. It is said that earlier buses were plying on roads to go to Mumbai from this area, but due to the increase in the corona cases it was stoped.

Nalasopara falls under the Vasai-Virar municipality, the number of people infected by coroanvirus in the ares has reached 10186.

On July 1, the Indian Railways had decided to expand its suburban services and run 350 trains each in the Central and Western Railway Zones. The trains were functional only for essential services personnel identified by Maharashtra government.

On the Mumbai Division of Central Railways, 200 trains were running on the line and 150 was added taking the total to 350. On the Western Railways, 202 trains were plying and 148 was added.

Railways has urged the state government to ensure all those allowed to travel, are allowed only after ensuring that they are medically fit and no traveler is coming from a containment zone.