The Mumbai suburban railways which sees a daily footfall of several lakhs may be headed towards a shutdown.
The Central Railways on Tuesday decided to discontinue services of through trains from Mumbai between March 17 and 31.
News about a possible shutdown was also corroborated by Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope who said that this was one of the measures under consideration as the State attempts to ensure 'social distancing'.
On Tuesday Central and Western Railways have increased platform ticket rate from Rs. 10 to Rs. 50 in a bid to curb the crowd at stations.
Information centres with voluntary Infrared thermometers will soon start functioning at CSMT, Thane, Dadar and Kalyan railway stations.
Earlier on Monday the Western Railway Twitter handle had shared a video of suburban train coaches being disinfected from time to time as officials ramp up efforts to stop the spread of the virus.
Not just the local trains, the government is reportedly mulling a near-complete shutdown of the public transit system of the city. A decision is likely to be be taken soon, following a State Cabinet meeting.
This was also corroborated by Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope who said that this was one of the measures under consideration as the State attempts to ensure 'social distancing'.
39 people in Maharashtra have so far tested positive for the novel coronavirus. One person has died.
