Mumbai: In what comes as a great sigh of relief for Mumbaikars, the Maharashtra government has allowed the resumption of Mumbai Metro Rail Services from October 15 in a graded manner. As per reports, Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) will now be able to resume operations after a hiatus of almost 6 months due to Coronavirus induced lockdown. ALSO READ | Flipkart Big Billion Days 2020 Sale: Check Top Gadget Deals and Offers From October 15

Under Mission Begin Again in Maharashtra, Mumbai Metro Metro services will be allowed to start in phases starting October 15. The standard operating procedure (SOP) regarding the same will be released by the state government soon.

Meanwhile, the state government also allowed reopening of all state-run and private libraries from Thursday following COVID-19 protocols, as per the guidelines issued. It also allowed business-to-business exhibitionsfrom tomorrow outside containment zones.

Local weekly bazars, including that of animals, will also be allowed to reopen outside containment zones. With an aim to reduce crowd, markets and shops will be allowed to remain open for two additional hours till 9 pm from tomorrow.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government has decided to do away stamping with indelible ink for domestic passengersarriving at different airports after COVID-19 testing.

Similarly, the health check up and stamping of passengers at railway stations will also be stopped.

(This is a developing story. More details are awaited.)