Factories shut, migrants crisis, battling the coronavirus in Asia's biggest slum, Mumbai braved it all.
COVID-19 testing officials at Dharavi. File Pic
The COVID-19 lockdown led to the shutting down of shops, factories, malls, offices, restaurants and even halted Mumbai’s lifeline, the local trains. The Maximum City, however, fought and survived the pandemic as residents remained inside their homes.
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Janata curfew
The Janata Curfew was a 14-hour curfew on March 22 (from 7 am to 9 pm). Every person was required to obey the curfew, with exceptions for people of "essential services" such as police, medical services, media, home delivery professionals and firefighters. At 5 pm that day, all citizens were asked to stand at their doorways, balconies or windows, and clap or ring their bells in appreciation for the professionals delivering the essential services. Mumbai saw an overwhelming response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's request of coming together and clapping, banging thalis and ringing bells to thank those helping curb the spread of coronavirus. The Maharashtra government also issued an advisory to private hospitals asking them to postpone non-emergency services and prepare isolation wards. The Mumbai local was also halted for the first time in its history till March 31.
Lockdown in Maharashtra
On March 25, with the announcement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the lockdown was imposed in Maharashtra, among other states. Subsequent extensions led to the lockdown to span over till June 1 before the state started opening up under Mission Begin Again . The lockdown was marred by the migrant crisis where thousands of workers from states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar bundled into trains, buses and even walked back to their home states after their places of work were shut.
On April 14, Modi made an official announcement extending the 21-day nationwide lockdown, initiated on March 25, to May 3, 2020. The same day hundreds of migrant labourers gathered outside the Bandra railway station in Mumbai and on the streets of Mumbra in Thane on the outskirts of Mumbai city. The Mumbai Police responded to reports of the gathering and arrived at the spot only to resort to lathicharge to disperse the huge crowds. Multiple reports suggested that the migrant labourers were demanding that they be allowed to return to their native homes since they had run out of food and other essential amenities.
Among another tragedy over migrants was the death of 16 workers on May 8, when they were crushed by a goods train at Satana village in the limits of Karmad police station near Aurangabad district. The labourers, who were on their way to Madhya Pradesh, were sleeping on the tracks.
Dharavi fights against coronavirus
An event that showed Mumbai’s undaunted spirit in the face of the lockdown was Dharavi’s battle with the novel coronavirus. With more than one death and over two dozen positive cases detected every day, Asia’s largest slum was a major cause for concern for the Maharashtra government in the months of April and May. In a slightly more positive turn of events, the COVID-19 hotspot did not report any deaths in the first week of June.
The average number of COVID-19 cases recorded per day also dropped to 27 in the first week of June as opposed to 43 in May 2020. On June 8, 12 new cases were recorded in the area and 13 new cases were seen on June 7. On June 9, however, there were 26 new cases and 2 deaths.
Mission Begin Again
Unlock 1.0
On May 31, the Maharashtra government announced that the coronavirus lockdown will be extended in the state till June 30 amid issuing revised guidelines for phase-wise opening and easing of lockdown restrictions.
Night curfew was to be maintained in accordance with the Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines according to which, movement of individuals shall remain strictly prohibited between 9 pm to 5 am except for essential activities. All markets, market areas and shops, except malls and market complexes, were allowed to resume operation from June 5 on PI-P2 basis (shops on one side of the road/lane/passage to be opened on odd dates while shops on the other side on even dates) from 9 am to 5 pm with conditions.
Private offices were also allowed to operate with up to 10 per cent strength from June 8, with remaining staff working from home. Schools, colleges, educational, training, coaching institutions, metro rail, cinema halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars and auditoriums, assembly halls, religious places/ places of worship for public, barber shops, spas, saloons, beauty parlours, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services, were not allowed to open
Unlock 2.0
The state government announced some relaxations for hotels, lodges and guest houses providing accommodation services outside containment zones. These entities were allowed to resume services from July 8 but at 33 per cent capacity and with certain conditions.
Hotels were asked to adopt contactless processes like QR code, online forms, digital payments like e-wallet for both check-in, check-out and paying orders inside the premises. The government notification also stated that the number of guests in the elevators will be restricted to ensure social distancing.
Unlock 3.0
The Maharashtra government extended the lockdown in the state till August 31. The news came after the Central government on July 29 issued new guidelines for Unlock 3.0. As per the state government’s new guidelines, this is what was allowed in Maharashtra from August 1:
- Any COVID-19 patient aged above 50 years will have to be moved to a COVID-care centre
- Any person with comorbidity will have to be admitted to a hospital if detected with COVID-19, irrespective of their age and symptom
- Malls and market complexes without theatres, food courts and restaurants will be operational between 9 am and 7 pm from August 5
- Kitchens of food courts and restaurants will be allowed to operate in the malls where only home delivery will be permitted
- Outdoor non-team sports like golf courses, outdoor firing range, outdoor gymnastics, tennis, outdoor badminton and malkhamb will be allowed with physical distancing and sanitation measures from August 5
- Wearing of masks will be compulsory in (public) transport system
- Night curfew was lifted
Unlock 4.0
The Maharashtra government kept most of the guidelines same as put forward by the Centre while declaring 'easing of restrictions and phase-wise opening of the lockdown'. The lockdown was extended till the midnight of September 30 in the entire state. "Hotels and lodges will be allowed to operate at 100 per cent capacity," stated the advisory.
As per the official notification, Metro services and large gatherings of any kind were prohibited across the state. "Schools, colleges, educational and coaching institutions shall remain closed till September 30." Besides, the International air travel of passengers, except those permitted by MHA remained suspended.
Private offices which were operating with 10 per cent staff could now operate with 30 per cent strength and only work-related movement was allowed. Restrictions on inter-district movements of persons or goods were lifted.
Unlock 5.0
The Maharashtra government announced guidelines for 'Unlock 5.0' which provided relaxations in restrictions while it also extended the lockdown till October 31.
What was allowed:
- Hotels, food courts, restaurants and bars could operate from October 5 with capacity not exceeding 50 percent or as prescribed by local authorities
- All the trains originating and ending the journey within the state were restarted with immediate effect subject to health protocols for Covid-19
- All industrial and manufacturing units producing non- essential items will be allowed to operate in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR)
- Dabbawallahs of tiffin carriers in MMR were allowed to travel by local trains after procuring QR code passes from the Mumbai police commissioner's office
Unlock 6.0
The state government allowed the reopening of cinema halls, multiplexes, drama theatres, yoga institutes, sports facilities like badminton and squash courts as well as indoor shooting ranges and swimming pools, which will be available only for training of sportspersons. Cinema halls were allowed to reopen at 50 per cent capacity and prohibit eatables inside while sticking to COVID-19 protocols like thermal checks, making masks mandatory at all times, and sanitisation. One-seat distance between two people was proposed and the temperature inside auditoriums was to be maintained between 24 and 30C.
All religious places in the state were also allowed to open from November 16. The Uddhav Thackeray government urged citizens to follow social distancing and COVID-19 protocols. "All religious places in the state to re-open for devotees from Monday, 16th November. Wearing the mask will be compulsory, all COVID norms will have to be followed: Government of Maharashtra (sic)", news agency ANI had tweeted.
With news of the new coronavirus variant from UK, The Maharashtra government on December 21 announced a night curfew in municipal corporation areas from 11 pm to 6 am from December 22 to January 5 as a precautionary measure.
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