KOCHI: After a long period of Covid restrictions, many sectors in Kochi and its suburbs are gearing up for a reopening and chief among them would be tourism destinations, museums, colleges, schools. At the same time passenger turnout in public transport, considered a gauge of vibrancy in social life, is increasing.
“There is a small-but-steady increase in passenger turnout over the past two weeks. We expect that the numbers will further go up in the coming days,” said T Gopinanthan, general secretary, Kerala State Bus Operators Organization.
Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) is expecting more footfalls in the coming days. “We are operating only a few trains now and will increase their numbers based on the increase in footfalls. We are increasing sanitizing facilities and will also ensure social distance in the next few weeks,” said an official with KMRL.
Authorities said they will put in place proper arrangements and precautions before reopening colleges and schools. “District disaster management authority (DDMA) will discuss all such issues. DDMA will set norms for reopening more sectors. Officials of many departments are members of DDMA. Then, such officials will be able to execute decisions pertaining to their areas,” said DMO Dr NK Kuttappan.
Business community is expecting a positive change in a couple of months. “After Onam, business was dull. But, we hope that there will be a positive change once schools and colleges reopen,” said Mohammed Kamran, secretary, Ernakulam Merchants Union. “Then, the market will become vibrant for some time,” he said.
At the same time, there are apprehensions over living in tandem with the new normal. “During the period where restrictions were issued to control the pandemic, our society acquired new habits. One of the major changes is the shift to online purchase. We are unsure how many consumers will return to shops even if all sectors reopen,” he said.
Bus owners’ also were anxious about operating services amid new challenges. “Due to restrictions as part of Covid control, we are allowed to carry passengers as per our seating capacity. Once students start commuting, our revenue may further fall as their fares are low. We will have to limit the number of passengers to seating capacity. At the same time, we will have to carry students. It will see a fall in passenger traffic and subsequent dip in revenue,” Gopinathan said.
