Mumbai: The Maharashtra government decided Wednesday to allow metro trains to operate in this city from October 15 in a phased manner. Trains will be allowed to run according to the programme ‘begin again’. The Maharashtra government also allowed reopening of all state-run and private libraries from Thursday. However, the libraries will have to strictly follow COVID-19 protocols, as per the guidelines issued here. It also allowed business-to-business exhibitions from Thursday outside containment zones.
Local weekly bazars, including that of animals, will also be allowed to reopen outside containment zones. With an aim to reduce crowd, markets and shops will be allowed to remain open for two additional hours till 9.00pm.
Significantly, the Maharashtra government has decided to do away stamping with indelible ink for domestic passengers arriving at different airports in the state after COVID-19 testing. Similarly, the health check up and stamping of passengers at railway stations will also be stopped.
It should be stated here that the Delhi and Kolkata Metros have been operational. Services were restored in a phased manner from the first week of October. The Kolkata Metro however, will not operate night services during Durga Puja as it was doing during the last 5-6 years.
PTI