This was waiting to happen, it appears. Thousands o people - mainly daily wage workers thronged at Kurla Terminus to leave the city as Mumbai witnesses a shutdown. The workers, who won't have any income during this time, waited in line to be thermally checked. However, how long it will take to check everyone is a topic of concern. What's worse: Kurla Terminus has only one thermal checker and it's getting difficult for the official to manage everyone.
Free Press Journal Photographer BL Soni managed to capture some of the scenes at the station.
Do note that despite the rows of people standing at a fair distance from each other, thre was no gap between individuals standing in the same row.
An official checks the temperature of one of the commuters at Kurla station | BL Soni - FPJ
Most of the commuters were covering their faces with surgical masks or handkerchiefs. Nobody was seen wearing an N-95 mask | BL Soni - FPJ
People were seen crowding to get themselves thermally checked at Kurla Station | BL Soni - FPJ
Eventually, the crowd got a bit more controlled and in this image, you can see separated rows, although people are closely standing one behind the other | BL Soni - FPJ
People waiting at the enquiry counter to know the status of the next train | BL Soni
Families sit patiently hoping that they can go back home | BL Soni
Some of the labourers were turned away from the ticket counters because the trains were overcrowded | BL Soni
This picture has coronavirus pandemic written all over it | BL Soni
Earlier, on Friday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that the railways and buses in Mumbai cannot be stopped amidst the deadly coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed the 10,048 lives and infected 246,005 globally.
He said that the lower-income groups and those working in the health and other important sectors travel through the local trains and buses, and hence, noted that the life-line of Mumbai, its local trains, and buses cannot be stopped.
The Chief Minister said that the next 15 days are extremely crucial in the fight against the pandemic. He added that all the offices and shops in the cities of Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad and Nagpur will be shut down from midnight of March 20 till March 31. However, he said that the essential commodities like medicines, milk, ration shops and banks will remain open during the period.
