In March 2020, India announced one of the most stringent country-wide lockdowns in the world to combat Covid-19, the epidemic that was beginning to sweep across nations. A year later, Covid-19 threat is far from over and several countries, including India, are experiencing another spike in the number of infections.
Mumbai, the financial capital of India was also at standstill amid pandemic and had never witnessed such deafening silence before. From offices, shops to schools, malls etc were shut for months as the city was struggling with the covid cases. The lockdown costed the city a lot as many of them lost their jobs, business while many lost their loved ones while battling with the virus.
To curb the spread, Mumbai's lifeline - local trains service was shut which made travelling even more difficult. BEST buses, auto-rickshaws, kaali-peeli taxis grabbed a corner of the street and hauled for months.
It's been a year since the outbreak of pandemic but the fear of the virus still exists. Here's a look back at the then situation of Mumbai when the lockdown took over the city.
One of the major attractions of the city, the Gateway of India witnessed zero tourist amid lockdown | BL Soni
Iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus also known as VT was silent which usually has a lot of crowd since it is one of the most important stations to commute |
A lovable place for the lovelies, an enjoyable spot for the families, friends - Marine Drive had lost it's charm due to the lockdown |
In a bid to curb the spread of virus, the Maharashtra Government had shut services of Mumbai local train |
Later the services were started but only for essential service employees |
Andheri station which was never so calm and empty |
The migrant workers were struggling to go back to their resprctive states, since the lockdown had led to loss of jobs |
Zero passangers so the station corridor was eventually clean, unlike when thousands of passangers commute |
No traffic jams, no honkings, no pollution, the roads, expressways were vacant |
Flights were restricted to curb the spread of virus |
The services of air lines resumed later to bring back the stranded Indians from the other states and countries |
One of the pilgrim and religious places in Mumbai, the Haji Ali Dargah was shut. Devotees were prohibited to enter mosques and many other religious institutions during the lockdown |
BEST buses were not functioning completely leaving the bus stops vacant |
Various developmental projects were stopped due to the fear of COVID-19. In pic: Coastal Road project |
Offices were functioning at 10 percent attendance at the initial stage, later the percentage increased as per the guidelines |
Due to lockdown, taxis, auto-rickshaws were not functioning leaving many drivers jobless |
People were allowed to buy groceries at certain timings issued by the government and municipal corporation |
An aerial view of a carshed where express trains were parked |
