Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced that the lockdown would need to be extended till May 3 to fight the coronavirus outbreak and that saw around 3,000-plus migrants arriving at the Bandra railway station in Mumbai, demanding transportation facilities to return to their native places. The move hasn’t gone down well with cricketer Harbhajan Singh.
Taking to Twitter, he wrote: “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.”
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
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 14, 2020
The Mumbai Police, which attempted to cajole them from gathering in such huge numbers, resorted to a mild lathi-charge when sections of the restive crowd seemed to be going out of control.
The migrants demanded that they could not continue to live away from their homes or families in different parts of India with the nationwide lockdown getting extended till May 3. They asked the police to make arrangements for suitable transportation facilities to enable them to go to their respective towns and villages.
Meanwhile, had everything gone according to plan, Harbhajan Singh would have been busy playing in the Indian Premier League, which now stands postponed at least till 15 April. Although several media reports are claiming that the organisers are aiming at a different window in the calendar year to slot in the tournament, the tournament might even get cancelled.
The dreaded virus has infected more than 19,00,000 people worldwide while over 1,20,000 people have lost their lives globally due to the pandemic.
There is still no sure shot way of treating the infection while social distancing, self-isolation and maintaining hand hygiene remain the only potent weapons of protecting oneself from contracting the virus.
(With inputs from IANS)