India would observe the “janata curfew” or the people’s curfew today as part of escalating its efforts to combat the coronavirus outbreak. The voluntarily-imposed curfew would come into effect in all parts of India at 7 am in the morning, and would continue to remain till 9 pm at night. While the janata curfew is unlikely to be penally imposed, it would be a litmus test on whether the nation would remain indoors on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal.
As part of the janata curfew, the passenger train services have been terminated from 4 am in the morning to 10 pm on Sunday. The suburban train services, including the metros in Delhi and Bengaluru and the locals in Mumbai, have been reduced to the bare minimum level.
Apart from the Railways, the the civil aviation sector is also supporting the janata curfew call. Domestic flyers including GoAir, IndiGo and Vistara announced that they would be curtailing their services on Sunday to encourage PM Modi’s call to remain indoors.
In the national capital, auto rickshaws and taxis would remain off roads between 7 am to 9 pm — when the civil curfew would remain in-effect. Delhi Autorickshaw Sangh, Delhi Pradesh Taxi Union, Delhi Auto Taxi Transport Congress Union and Delhi Taxi Tourist Transport Association announced that they would be joining the curfew.
Buses in Delhi would ply on half of their strength, announced Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday, adding that it was not possible to completely terminate the services considering that the residents may face emergencies.
Religious institutions would also adhere to the curfew call, with several shrines of all faiths to disallow devotees from visiting. The churches would also be conducting Sunday mass through video conference. Temples, mosques and gurudwaras are also expected to curtail entries of pilgrims to prevent mass gatherings.
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