Thousands of migrant workers crowded the Bandra station after a rumor of trains starting once again.
Hours after India Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the 21-day nationwide lockdown has been extended till May 3 to combat the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in the country, a huge crowd gathered and hit the road in Mumbai on Tuesday (April 14), raising serious concerns about the further spread of the deadly virus at the epicenter of the outbreak in Maharashtra.
Thousands of migrant workers assembled near Bandra railway station at Sunni Jama Masjid in Mumbai, the city with the highest coronavirus cases (over 1700) on Tuesday to protest against the extension of the COVID-19 lockdown while demanding transportation facilities to return to their native places.
It is being said that the incident took place after the rumor broke out that long-distance trains are running. On the other hand, the social media footage shows that thousands of people jostling, giving a go by to government warnings about coronavirus and social distancing.
Eventually, Police reportedly had to lathi-charge after the crowd ignored several warnings as lockdown and social distancing norms were violated to bring the situation under control.
Meanwhile, the horrific incident frustrated everyone including veteran Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh who came hard at the people who are not only risking their own life but also others by doing that.
He further said the Bandra incident is just unacceptable in the ongoing health crisis when not only India but the entire world is fighting for life while suggesting curfew is the only option to keep people inside to avoid such a situation in the fight against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Harbhajan wrote on Twitter: “Curfew is the only option to keep everyone inside..what happened in Bandra today is unacceptable.. people not understanding the situation..putting their life and many others in danger. @narendramodi @AUThackeray.”
Noteworthy, India has already crossed 10000-mark with 377 deaths so far and the cases continue to rise in the country amid the lockdown.