Mumbai: For all those Mumbaikars who are fully vaccinated, their train just came in. Amid recent scathing observations by the Bombay High Court and the rising clamour to allow those vaccinated to travel by local trains, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced in a live webcast on Sunday that Mumbai’s lifeline will be thrown open to all those who have received both their Covid shots. However, the rider is that at least 14 days must have passed for those who have taken the second dose in order that they may travel by train. The government is developing a mobile application to issue passes. In addition, passes will also be issued to people who don’t own smartphones from the BMC’s ward offices offline.
“As of now 19 lakh people in Mumbai are fully vaccinated,” Thackeray said, adding that those who do not have smartphones, can obtain passes offline. According to him, the number of fully vaccinated will increase by Independence Day but they will need to observe the 14-day gap after the second dose.
Minutes after Thackeray’s announcement, Union Minister of Railways Raosaheb Danve said the ministry would study the state government’s proposal and clear it immediately. “The ministry has yet to receive the state government’s proposal. Let it arrive first, then it will be approved.” As reported by The Free Press Journal last week, Danve had said that the railway administration was not against resuming local train services for common people.
Currently, the public is not allowed to board Mumbai suburban trains. Only essential service providers and government employees are allowed to travel by train. Regular operations were shut down in April, owing to the devastating second wave of Covid-19.
The high court had, last week asked the state government to consider allowing fully vaccinated people to travel by trains, with passes. State Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni recently told the high court that the state disaster management authority would issue a letter, based on which the Railways would issue passes for those fully vaccinated, permitting them to take the local trains.
The BJP had staged a protest last Friday. Opposition leader Pravin Darekar said, “Better late than never. I welcome the CM’s announcement. It is the success of the BJP’s protest which was organised in the larger interest of the people,” he claimed.
State Health Minister Rajesh Tope had said a week ago that the Maharashtra disaster management department was in favour of allowing fully vaccinated people to travel on local trains in Mumbai.
Maharashtra has reported 5,508 new cases, 4,895 recoveries and 151 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Decision on opening places of worship in a week: CM
Thackeray also said that his government was considering granting relaxations to shops, malls, restaurants and places of worship and a decision would be taken after a meeting of the taskforce on Monday.
The CM reiterated his appeal to offices to stagger working hours and allow those who could work from home to continue doing so. He also appealed to industry to make temporary arrangements for workers’ stay to avoid crowding, given the possibility of a third wave.
Thackeray urged people to follow coronavirus safety rules. “We all know that we have not yet fully recovered from the second wave. There is also the risk of a potential third wave. The Central government has also repeatedly warned you about this,” he said.
He further spoke about Mumbai's first genome sequencing laboratory, which he recently inaugurated at the civic-run Nair Hospital. He said the lab would offer an added advantage in the battle against coronavirus, as it could analyse a large number of samples in a short period and also identify mutants, a feature that would be especially useful in hotspots.
The CM said the state had recently set a record with a daily Covid vaccination average of 8 lakh. The government can administer 10 to 15 lakh doses daily provided it receives more supply, he iterated.
Thackeray said the six flood-hit districts--Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Sangli, Satara, and Kolhapur--were being closely monitored, cases continued to rise in these districts. Neither were cases decreasing in Pune, Solapur, Beed, and Ahmednagar, and these districts would have to ramp up corona management measures, he said.
Maratha reservation
Thackeray requested Narendra Modi-led government to relax the 50 per cent reservation limit for the restoration of Maratha quota and OBC reservation in local bodies if that is to be granted by the state.
This comes after the Supreme Court had struck down the quota provided under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018, and said it had exceeded the 50 per cent reservation limit. Further, it had dismissed the Central government’s review petition in the case, saying that states did not have the right to declare SEBCs, which they had earlier enjoyed.
Rs 11,500 crore package for flood-hit areas
The Chief Minister also spoke of the Rs 11,500-crore package which his government has provided to nine districts affected by incessant rains, floods and landslides. He said the government would study the recommendations made by various committees and take tough decisions to avoid damage from cyclones and heavy rains in the future.
