Kolkata Metro will stop issuing tokens from Monday to control the spread of Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19). This is part of the strict restrictions announced by the government of West Bengal after Covid-19 cases have increased 14 times in just 7 days.
The restrictions on the subway were issued on Sunday (January 2) in accordance with the provisions of the 2005 Disaster Management Act. The number of tokens will be reduced until further notice in order to operate at 50% capacity as instructed by the state government.
Only smart card holders can ride the subway, because the counter will only issue these cards, and cardholders can recharge their cards as before.
In addition, the Kolkata Metro Authority stated that the service hours of the Metro will not change.
The state government has also closed schools and colleges, restricted office workforce, and restricted flights from New Delhi and Mumbai, where the number of Covid-19 cases is high.
Flight restrictions will take effect from January 5th, and schools and colleges will be closed from Monday. “All academic activities in schools, colleges and universities will remain closed. Government and private offices will continue to use 50% of the workforce. Local trains will run with 50% of the seats before 7pm,” said chief secretary HK Dwivedi.
There is also a curfew from 10 pm to 5 am.
The number of Covid-19 cases in Kolkata has increased rapidly in the past few days.
