Janta Curfew: Noida Metro won't run on March 22, says NMRC

The Noida-Greater Noida Metro will not operate on March 22 in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for a 'Janta Curfew' to check the spread of coronavirus, the Noida Metro Rail Corporation said on Friday.

The NMRC said it will also suspend its bus service in the city on Sunday.

"The NMRC has decided not to run its metro train and city bus services on Sunday -- March 22," an official release said.

The NMRC, which manages and operates the Aqua Line, said it was regularly cleaning and sanitising its premises and metro coaches in view of the coronavirus outbreak.

Meanwhile, panic-buying was reported from various places in the city with people stocking up on groceries, vegetables and dairy items and many queuing up at pharmacies, a day after PM Modi cautioned against doing so.

Calling for "resolve and restraint" to fight coronavirus, Modi had on Thursday asked the entire country to observe 'Janta Curfew' on Sunday.

In a nearly 30-minute national broadcast, he asked people to stay indoors and work from home as much as possible while underscoring the dangers of coronavirus. He said the world has never seen a crisis as grave as this.

The prime minister had also asked people to avoid "panic-buying". He said essential things, including medicines, should not be hoarded, adding his government is working to ensure their supply.

So far four people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Noida, while Uttar Pradesh has recorded 23 such cases, including a foreigner, according to officials.