As many 250 non-essential workers on Wednesday staged a protest at Nalasopara railway station in Mumbai, demanding that they be allowed to travel in local trains to reach their workplace.

The city�s train services are restricted to essential workers like medical staff, municipal workers, policemen among other categories as notified by the state government. The non-essential workers usually travel by bus from the adjoining MSRTC depot at Nalasopara. However, due to a steep rise in passengers in recent days, officials have restricted the numbers to ensure social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic.

This led the workers gather at Nalasopara at around 8.15 am to stage their agitation. A small group of protesters also came onto the tracks, disrupting train operations for about five minutes before they were dispersed by security personnel. Additional personnel of GRP, RPF and local police have since been deployed to secure the station premises. The officials also urged MSRTC to release more buses to accommodate the workers.

�MSRTC is now working to release more buses however the assembled crowd is making it difficult,� an MSRTC official said.