Railways' move to suspend services contradicts social distancing message

The Railways' decision to abruptly suspend passenger services contradicts the government and health experts' social distancing message

Last week videos showing migrant labourers crowding Anand Vihar bus terminus in Delhi or walking hundreds of kilometres to return to their villages went viral after the March 23 announcement of a nationwide 21-day lockdown. Before that on March 20, the Indian Railways issued instructions to zones that no passenger trains will originate from any railway station in the country from 7 am to 10 pm on March 22 because of the Janata Curfew that Prime Mi­nister Narendra Modi announced.

That day, Maharashtra, too, an­n­oun­ced that all non-essential services in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Na­gpur would be closed