Chennai: Metro rail services resumed in Chennai on Monday after more than five inactive months due to COVID-19 but only a few commuters went to the stations. The authorities limited the number of services due to the lack of demand.
On the other hand, there was an exponential increase in traffic on the roads of Chennai with two-wheeler presence visibly up. There were plenty of gridlocks at traffic signals during the peak hours.
Inter-district buses, which too resumed operations on Monday, were also sparingly used. Passengers queuing up were scanned for body temperature and told to wear face masks at the Koyambedu bus terminus.
Of the two metro rail routes in Chennai, service resumed only on the Airport to Washermanpet line. The authorities said it would take a day or two for resumption of the other line that passes through Koyambedu and Egmore station.
Though more people were out on the streets, their wariness, after being cooped up in their houses for long, was palpable. There was no big crowding at restaurants and such other places where milling crowds were the norm earlier.
Meanwhile, film-makers are lobbying chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami to relax the rule disallowing more than 75 workers to be present for a shoot. The secretary of the Film Directors’ Association, R K Selvamani urged chief minister to allow at least 100. About 60 films have stopped shooting mid-way due to this rule.
Similarly the president of the Federation of Traders' Associations A M Vikramaraja, urged the government to open all markets.
