
Kochi metro resumes services after two months
The Hindu
About 6,000 passengers travel in trains up to 5 p.m. on the day
Kochi metro services resumed from 8 a.m. on Thursday in accordance with the COVID-19 protocol, following which 6,000 passengers travelled in the mass rapid transit system up to 5 p.m. The number is expected to climb to around 8,000 by the end of service timings at 8 p.m., as services resumed after a period of about two months. Trains are operating at frequency ranging from 10 minutes to 15 minutes. Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) deployed its staff all through the 25-km corridor to conduct random checks in trains and stations, to detect violations if any. There was hardly any commuter violating the guidelines, said an official of the agency.
In , the grape capital of India and host of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela every 12 years, environmental concerns over a plan to cut 1,800 trees for the proposed Sadhugram project in the historic Tapovan area have sharpened political fault lines ahead of local body elections. The issue has pitted both Sena factions against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. While Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief, and Uddhav Thackeray, chief of the Shiv Sena (UBT), remain political rivals, their parties have found rare common ground in Tapovan, where authorities propose clearing trees across 34 acres to build Sadhugram and a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) hub, as part of a ₹300-crore infrastructure push linked to the pilgrimage.












