Sumesh Rajan, a Nerul resident who works in Chembur in Mumbai has begun going to his workplace after offices opened in Mumbai under Mission Begins Again. As there are limited transportation facilities available at the moment, he decided to go on his bike. Commuting on a bike however has proved both costly as well as exhausting for him.
Under the Mission Begin Again, many offices have opened with limited staffers coming in from across the city and beyond. But as people travel from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and other parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region make their way to their offices, many are facing massive difficulties due to limited transportation facilities. At the same time, some of them have opted to use their own vehicles in order to avoid coming in close contact with others.
Prahlad Mohite, a resident of Ulwe has to travel to Jogeshwari as his department has made mandatory for senior officials to report to work. Mohite is a faculty member of a government-run educational institution. He says that after two online classes from home, he has to rush to the college as the administration has made it mandatory for them to come to campus for non-teaching work. “I commute in my bike as there is a lack of transportation available and also to avoid the delay,” said Mohite.
Rajan says that while he escapes crowd by commuting on bikes, traffic congestion and people spitting from inside the car is a problem that needs to be addressed. “The habit of spitting while sitting inside a car is very weird and it also raises the chance of coronavirus spread,” he notes.
Similarly, a resident of Panvel who works in the Engineering Department of BMC at Worli office says that there is no respite even trains and bus service resumed as the frequency is very low.
“I was commuting on my scooter since the lockdown was imposed. As BMC had made all the staff of my department report, I have no option but to commute on my scooter,” he said while requesting anonymity. He added that he is completely exhausted and there is a need to increase the frequency of train services.
