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In the instance of rising in the daily reported cases in the city, the resumption of the service will be postponed. As many as 7.5 million people use the local train service in Mumbai to commute.
The service was closed after a nationwide lockdown was imposed in March, to contain the Covid-19 outbreak. The service was later started for people in essential sectors and last month, for all women commuters during non-peak hours.
In-charge of health, Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani, said, “The virus has a 14-day cycle and this period will be crucial to know if there is any surge in Covid-19 cases post-Diwali. The state government will take a final call on fully resuming local trains. Inputs based on observations with regards to starting local trains will be given to the state by all civic bodies of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.”
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The state government on October 30, wrote to the general managers of both the zonal railways and had proposed three time-slots during the day for general commuters, and two time-slots for essential services staff. The government had also sought a lady’s special train every hour.
The city has seen a decline in the Covid-19 curve since October 24, with cases reporting as low as 535 in a day. Prior to this, daily cases reported were all-time high on almost every alternate day.
As the festival of Diwali, which will fall on November 14, the civic body is taking various measures to avoid any further surge in cases, similar to the one following the Ganesh festival in September. Around the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, the city recorded around 2000 cases almost every day.