Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday announced that inter-district bus operations and passenger train operations within the state will be allowed from September 7.
According to the press release, the government had received requests from the public who travel between districts for business and other reasons to resume bus services. Considering this request, the government has decided to allow operation of both public and private buses between districts from September 7.
Intra-state trains were previously allowed only on certain routes. The government has now decided that intra- state services will resume from September 7 in accordance with the Standard operating procedure.(SOP).
The Government had earlier allowed people of Tamil Nadu to travel across the state without e-pass and had announced that public and private bus transport within districts will be allowed from September 1.It had also said that inter-state rail services will be allowed only in select routes and no intra-state services will be permitted until September 15. The services of Chennai Metro Rail will also be allowed from September 7.
The Tamil Nadu government had earlier announced doing away with e-passes for inter-district travel. However, travelers from other states and countries will have to apply for an e-pass, which will be generated automatically.
The reopening of shopping malls, playgrounds, parks and larger places of worship from September 1 are some of the other relaxations made by the state government. The Sunday lockdown which has been enforced for the past eight weeks has also been scrapped. Cinema theatres, however, will continue to remain closed in the state.
The Chief Minister has also requested the general public to strictly follow the government advisory on wearing masks, practicing social distancing and washing hands frequently.
As of September 1, Tamil Nadu has 52,379 active cases of COVID-19, and has recorded 7418 fatalities.