All eyes on returnees: Ganpati festival over, BMC to ramp up testing

Modi Express, a free Ganpati special train at Dadar station, on September 7. Pic/Sameer Markande

All eyes are now on the month of October for an update on Covid-triggered restrictions, including access to local trains. The lakhs of Mumbaikars who had gone to their native places, mostly in Konkan, for the Ganpati festival have slowly started returning to the city. By the time everyone is back, it will be September-end and any spike or fall in cases reported after would be a pointer on further relaxations.

A senior transport official told mid-day, "If the number of cases does not rise, we will be in a safe zone and only then a few more restrictions could be lifted. The coming few days are very crucial and will reveal all and help us take further directions." With almost a race between the BJP and Shiv Sena for one-upmanship, the number of buses and special trains for Ganapati is almost twice that of those operated last year and that too with minimal restrictions. These thousands of buses and trains will now return with all the crowds back to Mumbai in the next 8-9 days.

The BMC has now instructed its field and ward staff to increase testing and keep a strict vigil on the returnees. The drive to ramp up testing will begin from Marathi-speaking pockets and will eventually cover all the areas. On September 20 last year, about three weeks after the festival, the city had seen 2,236 cases along with 44 fatalities. The BMC ward offices will approach returnees through societies and resident associations along with local representatives. If door-to-door is not feasible in some areas, then the ward war rooms will call up the members of such returnee households and encourage them to get tested.

A BMC worker collects a swab sample of a train traveller at Dadar station. Pic/Ashish Raje

Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani said, "I have instructed all the field officers to gear up and improve the number of testings and to tap those areas where the temporary migrants have returned from their natives. We have a network in place at the ward level which will be put in use for this purpose to reach out to such returnees." Meanwhile, frustrated with prolonged restrictions, the Federation of Suburban Passengers Association has now written to the Maharashtra government, seeking relief.

"Everyone is fed up with restrictions, especially on local trains. Kids can't travel, there is a compulsory monthly pass, inter-city trains are shut, single-journey tickets are not available. Look at the crowds on BEST buses and also that there have been no restrictions of any kind on Metro services," said Nandkumar Deshmukh, president of the Federation of Suburban Passengers Association.

"The restrictions on tickets should be lifted and all those fully vaccinated be allowed to travel anywhere without any limitation. Also, there is too much confusion on restrictions and even those who want to travel by outstation trains are many times denied a ticket," he added.