Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Monday that he was “shocked” to see heavy traffic on state capital Mumbai’s roads as he went to inaugurate a section of the city’s metro. He again warned that if this continues, the government will be bound to impose stricter curbs to check the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
“I was shocked to see heavy vehicular traffic in Mumbai today. I was wondering if I said anything about restrictions being lifted last night but I did not. If this (traffic) continues, stricter curbs will have to be imposed,” Thackeray was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
He was speaking in suburban Bandra at the inauguration of the trial run of two Metro lines and bhoomi pujan of the elevated road and vehicular underpass to connect the airport. The Metro corridor will be open for commercial run by October, according to Maharashtra government.
When completed, these projects will put Mumbai on a faster pace amid the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, Thackeray said.
The chief minister on Sunday addressed the people of Maharashtra virtually where he announced the extension of ongoing lockdown in the state for 15 days (till June 15). It was scheduled to end at 7am on June 1.
The state government also released a set of guidelines in the wake of lockdown extension.
“All essential shops that are currently allowed to operate between 7-11 am may be allowed to operate between 7 am to 2 pm,” stated the order.
Maharashtra reported 18,600 new cases of Covid-19, 402 deaths, and 22,532 discharges on Sunday. The active cases in the state are 2,71,801.
The total number of cases in the state so far is 57,31,815 while the death toll is at 94,844.
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/wondered-if-covid-19-curbs-lifted-uddhav-shocked-to-see-traffic-in-mumbai-101622465047911.html
