NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MARCH 20
No passenger train will originate from any railway station in the country from midnight to 10 pm on Sunday in view of the “Janta curfew” announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources said on Friday.
The sources said that mail and express trains will also stop services from 4 am on Sunday. All suburban train services to be reduced to a bare minimum as well.
As of Friday evening, the Indian Railways has cancelled 245 trains in order to restrict unnecessary travel due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Pitching for “social distancing”, Modi on Thursday called for a ”Janta curfew” from 7 am to 9 pm on March 22, saying no citizen, barring those in essential services, should get out of their houses, and asserted that it will be a litmus test to show India’s readiness to take on the coronavirus challenge. This experience will serve the nation well, he added.
“This Sunday, that is on March 22, all citizens must follow this curfew from 7 am until 9 pm. During this curfew, we shall neither leave our homes, nor get onto the streets and refrain from roaming about in our societies or areas. Only those associated with emergency and essential services may leave their homes,” an official said.
Delhi Metro services will be closed
In the wake of ‘Janta Curfew’ to be observed this Sunday i.e, on 22nd March 2020, DMRC has decided to keep its services closed. The move is aimed at encouraging public to stay indoors and maintain social distancing, which is essential in the fight against Covid-19. #JantaCurfew
— Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (@OfficialDMRC) March 20, 2020
The Delhi Metro services will be closed on Sunday in view of the ‘Janata curfew’, officials said.
The total number of coronavirus cases in the national capital on Thursday rose to 14, according to the Delhi Health Department.
In view of the ‘Janata curfew’ to be observed on March 22, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has decided to keep its services closed, the DMRC said in a statement on Friday. “The move is aimed at encouraging public to stay indoors and maintain social distancing, which is essential in the fight against COVID-19,” it said.
Shaheen Bagh protesters to defy janta curfew
The women protesters in Shaheen Bagh will continue with their protest on Sunday, the day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people to remain inside their houses under a self-imposed curfew.
The women have been blocking a side of a road connecting southeast Delhi to Noida since mid-December to protest against the amended citizenship law.
On Monday, the Delhi government said gatherings with more than 50 people were not allowed in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The size of gatherings has since been reduce to 20 people.
“It also applies to Shaheen Bagh,” Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said.
The protesters on Friday told PTI that not more than 50 women had been staging protest at any given time.
“On Sunday, we will sit under small tents (at the protest side). Only two women will sit under each tent and maintain a distance of more than a metre between them,” a protester who did not wish to be named said.
Another protester, Rizvana, said the women had been taking every precaution and they were covered in burqa all the time.
Washing hands regularly is part of our lifestyle. We offer namaz five times a day and we wash our hands every time,” she said. Ritu Kushik, another protester, said women aged above 70 and children aged less than 10 were not being allowed at the protest site.
“The women are not sitting on the mattresses any more. Cots have been placed and there’s a minimum distance of three metres between every two cots. Not more than two women can sit on a cot,” he said.
Taseer Ahmad, one of the key organisers, said sanitisers and masks had been arranged in enough numbers, and the protest site was being disinfected at regular intervals.
