Bus services across India are affected due to Janata curfew.
As India continues to witness a sharp rise in number of coronavirus cases, millions are staying at home today after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a "Janata (public) Curfew" to curb the spread of COVID-19, which has spread to over 140 countries since it originated in China in December. On Saturday, India's coronavirus count crossed the 300-mark as the country recorded biggest jump in a single day in the figures with over 70 fresh cases reported from different parts. Today's self-curfew is being seen as a practice run for social distancing. Various state governments have responded to the 14-hour lockdown, which began at 7 am, by limiting public transportation and closing non-essential businesses.
Here's what's shut, what's not as India observes Janata Curfew:
No passenger trains are running across the country today till 10 pm. "Keeping in view that demand for train travel will be vastly reduced," the passenger trains have been cancelled, Indian Railways said on Friday. Suburban services in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi and Secunderabad have been reduced to a "bare minimum".
While the central government had earlier announced restrictions for international flights, domestic airlines have also joined the curfew call. GoAir has suspended all flights for Sunday and IndiGo has said it will halt 40 per cent of domestic flights.
Metro services have been halted for a day in Karnataka, Delhi, Mumbai, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. In a Twitter statement on Saturday, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation or DMRC said: "The move is aimed at encouraging (the) public to stay indoors and maintain social distancing, which is essential in the fight against COVID-19."
Maharashtra, which has recorded the most number of COVID-19 positive cases (63, so far), has suspended the Mumbai Metro One service. "In continuation of our fight against COVID-19 and in support of the Prime Minister's appeal of Mumbai Metro One suspends operations no Sunday to encourage people to stay at home," the agency said in a statement.
Road traffic is also likely to be affected. App-based cab services Ola and Uber are also off streets.
In Haryana, buses have been suspended. Transport Minister Mool Chand Sharma was quoted by news agency PTI as saying: "The state government is working at every level to tackle the spread of the coronavirus." However, Maharashtra has decided to run buses as per schedule.
Beaches will remain shut in Chennai to reduce public gatherings with an aim to curb spread of highly contagious coronavirus. Tamil Nadu has so far reported four cases and one of them has already recovered. The state has also suspended public transport -buses and metro - for the 14-hour lockdown.
Bars and restaurants will remain shut in Karnataka, the southern state that has recorded 17 cases so far including one death. Multiple cities across India have already closed the restaurants till the end of this month amid coronavirus pandemic.
The Odisha and Bihar governments have also announced large-scale closures across major cities and towns. In Odisha five districts will experience "near-total" shutdown, according to PTI. Bihar has closed bus services, restaurants and banquet halls.
Large gatherings are banned in several states including Haryana, Kerala and Goa.
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