Noting that railway services need to correspond with the partial lifting of lockdown, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday suggested an increase in the frequency of local trains being run in Mumbai to check overcrowding.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni said currently the Maharashtra government has permitted several sectors to resume and hence, it is high time the frequency of trains is also increased.
"We are now in partial lockdown. Malls are open, hotels are allowed to remain open, government offices are working with 100% staff and several other sectors are now working. Railway services need to correspond with this," the court said.
"The frequency of local trains on all three lines (western, central and harbour lines) has to be increased to reduce overcrowding, the bench said.
The court directed the state government to consider its suggestions and see if it can forward a proposal to the Railways for an increase in the frequency of trains.
The bench was hearing a bunch of petitions, seeking a direction to the Maharashtra government to include lawyers and their clerical staff under essential services and permit them to use the local trains to attend court and their office.
Source: PTI
