10-day lockdown in Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali, Navi Mumbai

A similar lockdown will come into force in Navi Mumbai from Friday. Essential services and medical emergencies are exempted from the lockdown, while inter-city buses, autorickshaws and taxis will not be allowed to operate in these civic limits, they said.

A 10-day complete lockdown has been enforced from Thursday in Thane and two other civic administration limits adjoining Mumbai city to contain the spread of coronavirus, officials said. A similar lockdown will come into force in Navi Mumbai from Friday.

Essential services and medical emergencies are exempted from the lockdown, while inter-city buses, autorickshaws and taxis will not be allowed to operate in these civic limits, they said. The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) and Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation, all part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), jointly decided on the complete lockdown for next 10 days in view of the rising number of COVID-19 cases in these areas, the officials said.

The lockdown came into force from 7 am on Thursday and will continue till 7 am on July 12, they said. The municipal corporations of Navi Mumbai and Panvel will enforce complete lockdown from July 3 midnight.

"We want to break the chain of coronavirus infection. People working in essential services will be exempted from the lockdown and will be allowed to move out for work," KDMC Commissioner Vijay Suryavanshi said.

A TMC official said inter-city bus services, auto- rickshaws, taxis and app-based cabs will not be allowed to operate. "Medical emergencies are exempted. A patient can be accompanied by only one person in a cab or auto-rickshaw, he said.

Banks, ATMs, IT, ITeS, India Post, internet and data services and medical shops will be exempted from the lockdown, he said. TMC Commissioner Dr Vipin Sharma, in an order issued on Tuesday, said the city will observe a total lockdown for 10 days from Thursday.

Non-essential services will not operate during this period, and nor would movement of vehicles for proposes other than medical and essential travel be allowed, the order said. Movement of all essential goods as well as perishable items will be allowed during this period, it added.

Thane Collector Rajesh Narvekar on Wednesday said roads, market areas and other public places are becoming increasingly congested with the introduction of various concessions as per the 'Mission Begin Again' order. Also, there is a lot of strain on the health system, police and district administration. Against this backdrop, lockdown restrictions need to be re-enforced, he said.

Similar orders are applicable in Mira-Bhayandar. Thane district on Wednesday registered 1,322 new coronavirus cases, pushing its overall tally to 34,646.

Thane city has so far reported 9,138 cases, Navi Mumbai 6,823 cases, while the tally in Kalyan was nearing 7,000. The death toll in Thane district due to the viral infection has reached 1,094, including 340 in Thane city, 217 in Navi Mumbai, 120 in Kalyan and 145 in Mira Bhayandar township.

Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) announced a strict lockdown from Friday midnight for ten days. As per the order issued by municipal commissioner Annasaheb Misal, vehicles heading for Mumbai or coming from Mumbai will be allowed to pass through Navi Mumbai.

But there will be no intercity bus service, nor would private vehicles, auto rickshaws and taxis be allowed to ply for ten days except in the case of medical emergency, he said. Shops selling foods, bakery products and vegetables can operate between 9 am and 5 pm, but milk outlets can remain open from 5 am to 10 am only.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)