The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) on Tuesday issued a clarification after a fake NMMC notification started circulating on WhasApp.
The fake notice said, “To Prevent the Spread of COVID 19, as a containment measure, citizens travelling everaday for the essential services to Mumbai and Back to Navi Mumbal, should inform their organization to make their staying arrangement or make their own staying arrangement in Mumbai. Please note that from 7 may 2020 as a containment measure everyday travel to Mumbai will be restricted. (sic)”
The NMMC came to know about the fake message after government officials from Mumbai and Navi Mumbai started calling up civic officials to verify the notification. Now, the clarification said there are no such restrictions order on travel to Mumbai after Thursday.
Municipal Commissioner Annasaheb Misal had, in the past, asked Navi Mumbai-based firms to make staying arrangements for their employees in the city. Mayor Jaywant Sutar has also written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray requesting him to provide accommodation to people, who come to Mumbai for work, in the city itself.
On Sunday, Mr. Misal through videoconferencing urged the CM that accommodation for the Navi Mumbai residents working in Mumbai should be made there in order to avoid travelling.
“The CM has agreed, and the Navi Mumbai residents are requested to make the demand with their employers. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has assured us that it will make staying arrangements for its employees from Navi Mumbai. We hope even private firms follow suit. Around 90% of positive cases in Navi Mumbai are directly or indirectly linked to people who travel to Mumbai for work daily,” Mr. Misal said.
About the fake notice, he said, “The message being circulated is false and no such containment orders have been passed. We are looking into the source from where this was created and no police case has been registered as of now.”