Mumbai, April 17: With an aim to avert traffic jams across Mumbai amid and to facilitate uninterrupted movement of essential services across the city, the Mumbai Police has announced colour code for essential services vehicles during the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. According to the new order, only vehicles with colour-coded stickers will be allowed to travel on the roads from April 18, 2021. The Mumbai Police dedicated three kinds of stickers of different colours for people allowed to move around the city. The stickers on the vehicles in the essential services category will display the kind of services that needs to be undertaken. This will help essential service workers avoid traffic jams at various checkpoints and will help in limiting the number of vehicles plying on roads.

Mumbai Police Commissioner IPS Hemant Nagrale on Saturday issued a fresh set of guidelines for those driving their cars across the city. According to a video shared by Mumbai Police on its official Twitter handle, the Mumbai Commissioner explained how those under 'Essential Services' can put up stickers belonging to their category on their vehicles for easy movement at nakabandis. The tweet added saying that strict action will be taken against those misusing this facility. COVID-19 Restrictions in Maharashtra: State Govt Announces Weekend Lockdown, Night Curfew To Curb Spread of Coronavirus; Know What Will Remain Open And Close. 

As per the new rule, medical staff and health workers will have red colour stickers while workers of the financial sector and banks will have yellow stickers.  Essential services like vegetable vendors will have green colour stickers. Nagrale urged the owners of vehicles under these categories to put up round stickers, measuring 6 inches in diameter, on front screen and the back screen of the cars. He said while individuals can themselves paste the stickers, they can also get the stickers from checkpoints.

Check the Message Shared by Mumbai Police Commissioner IPS Hemant Nagrale

The Mumbai Police Commissioner said this step was important so that people involved in the essential services category such as doctors, nurses, vehicles like ambulances and medical suppliers do not face the traffic snarls and reach their destinations on time.

In Maharashtra, the weekend lockdown has been imposed to bring under control the COVID-19 surge. The first-weekend lockdown in the state began at 8 pm on April 16 and it will continue till 7 am on April 19. The weekend lockdown and other restrictions will continue in the state till April 30 as part of its 'Break the Chain' COVID-19 action plan. Mumbai police have deployed personnel to ensure that people adhere to the rules.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 17, 2021 09:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).