On Monday morning, a huge traffic jam was reported near Goregaon on Mumbai’s Western Express Highway amid the lockdown enforced due to novel coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, Twitter users expressed their anger after the picture went viral on the internet. Actor and Producer Nikhil Dwivedi tweeted, “No waaayyyy!! This is not good.” A Twitter user wrote, “Extremely poor implementation by the Govt of Maharashtra, the lockdown is not being enforced leading to spike especially in many areas. Similar problem is being seen in Pune.”
Here are some of the Twitter reactions:
No waaayyyy!! This is not good. https://t.co/mcuHvdAW7j
— Nikhil Dwivedi (@Nikhil_Dwivedi) April 20, 2020
We are doomed! https://t.co/QEyeL7B31P
— Chintan Vora (@theunsocialguy) April 20, 2020
Is this for real ?
— Raj Nayak (@rajcheerfull) April 20, 2020
Is the lockdown over there ? https://t.co/0MiyUsd5Uf
— Ram Grover (@RamGrover) April 20, 2020
Everyone is back to work? This is the direction going into town. Uff.
— Kiran Manral (@KiranManral) April 20, 2020
Is this for real ?!
It’s so unfair that we have to be home longer because of idiots who break the lockdown man !! https://t.co/hzZspl0A6G— Minal Kapadia (@minalbk) April 20, 2020
Unreal
— Bunty S Walia (@bunty_walia) April 20, 2020
Extremely poor implementation by the Govt of Maharashtra, the lockdown is not being enforced leading to spike especially in many areas. Similar problem is being seen in Pune @CMOMaharashtra @PMOIndia
— Anand Parameswaran (@andrin30) April 20, 2020
Migrants use cars to escape from Mumbai?
— S Ramachandran (@indiarama) April 20, 2020
Meanwhile, the possible explanation of the traffic could be that some relaxations were imposed on lockdown in non-hotspot areas of Mumbai from April 20.
In order to restart the economic cycle, some industrial and commercial activities were restarted. All health services (including AYUSH) and activities related to fisheries, agriculture, plantation and allied activities, animal husbandry became functional. MNREGA workers were also allowed, given they practice social distancing and use face masks.
Also, toll collection on national highways across the country resumed on Monday amid the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown. This comes as India is slowly easing restrictions brought in to contain the coronavirus pandemic from today in order to revive stalled economic activities. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had suspended toll collection on all national highways after the 21-day nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24.
Maharashtra: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) resumes toll collection on national highways from today. Visuals from Vashi toll plaza in Mumbai pic.twitter.com/xeq9WR6pLL
— ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2020
Meanwhile, the total number of COVID-19 patients in Maharashtra are 4,483 of which 2,268 are in Mumbai. 223 people have succumbed to the deadly virus in the state.