Maharashtra recording the highest number of novel coronavirus cases in the country and the State government issuing directives calling for a shut down of all public places did not have a bearing on passenger traffic on local trains as thousands of Mumbaikars hopped on the city’s lifeline to reach their workplaces on Monday.
Sameer Alam, a food vendor at Andheri station, said, “The crowd was a bit less than usual, but we haven’t seen a major difference.” According to the Railway Protection Force personnel deployed across stations, there was little or no difference in passenger traffic during rush hours, but it thinned out in the non-peak hours.
Railway officials said suburban passenger traffic on the Central Railway (CR) and the Western Railway (WR) has witnessed a drop in March. Data accessed from both CR and WR shows a year-on-year decline of 9% in passengers on WR and 11% on CR from March 1 to 15.
Though most colleges and schools in the city remained closed, many offices stayed open. A few offices allowed employees to work from home and only those who had to attend meetings were expected to report for work. “We have been asked to work from home from Tuesday for two weeks, subject to client meetings. We underwent a drill last week to understand how to manage work from home,” Vaibhav Shah, an investment banker with a U.S.-based firm, said.
Office-goers don masks while waiting to board a bus in Bandra.
Many commuters said their nature of work is such that it is not possible for them to work from home. Subiya Siddiqui, a medical representative at a pharmaceutical company, said people with desk jobs have been allowed to work from home. She said, “Our work involves being on the field and that requires us to leave our homes.” Prashant Shinde, who works for a courier company in Saki Naka, said, “My company has not yet issued any directive. But in housing societies we have been asked to hand over packages to security guards.”
Dabbawalas also expressed concern over the future of their livelihood with offices asking employees to work from home. “Our business is entirely dependent on people going to work. If that stops, it will have a direct impact on our livelihood,” Sunil Navare, a dabbawala, said. Mr. Navare, who delivers food in Ghatkopar, Kurla and Bandra Kurla Complex, said he has noticed a 10% decline in orders.
