Metro services resumed in Kolkata on Friday aftertwo months and the authorities had a tough time managing the crowd in keeping with COVID-19 protocols. Many coaches were crowded and could have been carrying more than 50% of the permissible passenger capacity. The north-south Metro service that connects Kavi Subhash in the south to Dakshineswar in the north had ferried 1.28 lakh passengers by the end of the day. Metro officials had announced le 192 trains on its north-south route, and 48 on the east-west corridor from July 16 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
By the end of the day they decided to add 16 more services from July 19. “In order to facilitate the Metro commuters, it has been decided to add 16 more services (UP & DN) in the morning and evening peak hours from 19.07.2021 (Monday). Metro will run 208 daily services instead of 192 services from Monday to Friday so that the passengers can travel comfortably,” a statement from Metro Railways Kolkata said. The statement also added that during morning and evening peak hours, Metro services would run at the interval of six minutes.
The COVID-19 situation in the State has improved, with 882 new cases registered in the past 24 hours. The case positivity rate is 1.5 %.
While the number of infections has come down, there is also a slump in the number of people getting vaccinated. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the State, which plans to vaccinate 3 lakh people a day, has only received 25 lakh vaccines in June.