Mumbai wakes up to empty roads as Janata Curfew begins to counter Covid-19

The city that never sleeps on Sunday woke up to empty roads and deserted public places as the 'Janata curfew' proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to counter the coronavirus spread began.

Modi has proposed the day-long curfew between 7 am and 9 pm as part of social distancing to check the spread of the deadly virus. The usually bustling western and eastern express highways and other arterial roads looked empty as people stayed in their homes to support the curfew.

Same was the situation at the suburban train stations which normally see thousands of commuters jostling to get inside the overcrowded trains. State government authorities had on Saturday informed people that only those engaged in essential services would be allowed to travel in local trains, that too after checking their identity papers.

Public transport is being curtailed in the city on Sunday. Local trains on the Central line will see 60 per cent services as against the normal 70 per cent on Sundays. The Western Railway has cancelled four services, two from Virar to Dahanu Road, and two from Dahanu Road to Dadar and Churchgate.

The Central Railway has cancelled 60 long distance trains across Mumbai division, while the Western Railway has cancelled 40 mail express and 26 passenger trains from Mumbai. It has also cancelled 477 suburban locals on Sunday.

The Mumbai Metro and Mumbai Monorail will remain suspended for the day, while BEST buses will run according to their holiday schedule, officials said.

Late on Saturday evening, the Divisional Commissioner of Konkan Region declared that the police and State government staff will be present at all stations to ensure that people do not travel unnecessarily and only those engaged in essential services will allowed on local trains.