Mumbai Local Train Latest: Amid strong demand from activists, political leaders and general commuters, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Tuesday said that the Mumbai Local Trains can be started, but only if the state speeds up vaccination and for this, the Centre has to supply the vaccines in abundant quantity.
Saying that the districts have been brought under level-3, the health minister said that the Mumbai Local Trains are yet not started and there is a question how will people travel. He also added that the workers and journalists are demanding that local trains should be started.
“If we want to bring the economy back on track, we will have to give utmost importance to vaccination,” he said.
At present, only state government and public administration officials are allowed to commute in the Mumbai Local Trains.
This week, Congress leader Milind Deora had demanded that the government of Maharashtra to allow local train travel to those vaccinated.
Tope also informed that Maharashtra is the state in the country that has done maximum vaccination. “In the districts where the second dose is left, more attention will have to be paid. Attention will also be paid to the districts where the infection is high. Also, the districts which are lagging in vaccination will have to be taken forward.”
During the second wave of coronavirus, the Mumbai local train services in the state were suspended for the general public for the second time in April.
Apart from Milind Deora, the Rail Yatri Parishad also demanded that the train services should be resumed for the vaccinated people.
The Bombay High Court last week had said that it cannot allow lawyers to travel by suburban trains at least till the end of July as the Maharashtra State Covid-19 Task Force apprehends a third wave of the pandemic.
Maharashtra on Monday reported 6,740 new COVID-19 cases, taking the infection tally to 61,04,917, while the death toll increased to 1,23,136 with the addition of 51 fresh fatalities.
According to officials, Mumbai recorded 486 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 7,25,161, while the death toll increased to 15,554 after 10 more patients succumbed to the infection. Over 157 new cases were found in Pune municipal limits, taking the tally to 4,96,213, while the death toll remained unchanged at 8,306 as no fresh fatality was reported in the city.