The Financial Capital of India and one of the most crowded cities, Mumbai looked deserted and yet huge crowds were seen at Railway stations trying to board the train. This comes after the state became the worst-hit by the novel COVID-19 virus in the country.
On Friday, in a televised address, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta, and State Health Minister Rajesh Tope announced the partial shutdown of the state and requested people to stop overcrowding in public places. All the non-essential services were shut down in Mumbai, Pune – the worst-hit city in the state, Pimpri Chinchwad and Nagpur till the 31st of March.
Following this, the Konkan Divisional Commissioner announced the general public will be restricted to access Mumbai locals. Medical professionals with valid I-cards and professionals of other essential services will only be allowed to enter Mumbai locals. A total of 150 stations fall under the Konkan division.
Despite the measures undertaken by the government, although the majority of the streets looked abandoned, huge crowds were seen in Railway Stations waiting to board the train. One of the passengers who had a valid ticket could not board the train because of the crowd.
5th Death Reported in India
On Sunday, India reported its 5th death in Mumbai as the total positive cases in the state of Maharashtra increased to 64. After repeated attempts of requesting the public to contain mobilization to help the state to control the spread of the disease, the public, by and large, have went on with their daily lives neglecting the orders of the government.
Earlier in the day, Rajasthan became the first state to order complete lockdown after confirming 25 positive cases of COVID-19. Maharashtra with 64 positive cases, would need to follow the footsteps of Rajasthan soon. As Maharashtra’s capital, Mumbai holds the major financial sector of the country, closing down the state would impact the financial condition of the country’s economy in a big way.
As of 22nd March, India has confirmed 327 confirmed cases out of which 300 cases are in the hospital under treatment. Out of 327, 286 of them are Indians and the rest are foreign nationals.
