Despite the rising cases of Covid-19, it seems people just don't listen. On January 4, the Western Railway authorities came across complaints on social media about passengers not wearing masks. In the first three days of January the WR have already caught 57 people for not wearing masks while in December 2020, at least 951 of them were caught. Likewise the Central Railway caught 63 people for moving around without masks in the station premises and inside local trains.
This comes at a time when there is no proposal at present to put any restrictions on suburban train travel in Mumbai. Amid rising cases of Omicron and coronavirus, BMC officials on Monday had said that they are working on preventive measures and are ready to handle any crisis. At present there is no proposal to put any curbs on suburban train travel. However, if needed, the Maharashtra government will take a decision on the issue in consultation with the state task force on COVID-19 as it pertains to the entire Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
In December last year, CR authorities caught 197 passengers for moving around without masks. Sources said that they have also been receiving complaints on social media over passengers not wearing masks or improperly wearing them in public spaces. With more than 46 lakh daily average passengers now travelling on the Main, Harbour and Trans-harbour networks of Central and Western Railway; the rail officials agree that they are finding it difficult to keep watch on people whether or not they are wearing masks. From January 1-3 the CR collected Rs 12700 and similarly the WR collected Rs 6800 during the same period.
“We have been appealing people to wear their masks in these Covid times. The number of cases is rising. As of now there are no directives to curtail the number of local trains from the state government, however people should follow Covid protocols thoroughly,” said a railway official on condition of anonymity.
From April to December 2021, the WR caught 14812 passengers and CR fined 2735 passengers for moving mask-less in rail premises only in Mumbai. The two railway authorities together levied fines and collected more than Rs 26 lakh. If we look at December 2021 figures then on a daily average 37 people were caught on WR and CR together. On the other hand if we look at the figures between April to December 2021 then daily average comes to 65 cases.
Since April 2021, the railways had issued a circular regarding the compulsion of masks while travelling in trains as well as railway premises up to April 2022. The mandatory use of masks and the fine was already listed under the Indian Railways (Penalties for activities affecting cleanliness at Railway Premises) Rules, 2012, which also has the provision of fines for those found spitting on rail premises.
