PUNE: The BJP held a protest on Saturday demanding resumption of municipal transport bus services as a 6 pm to 6 am curfew began in Pune in a bid to tackle a recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
Pune BJP MP Girish Bapat and Pune BJP president Jagdish Mulik led the party's protest in front of the PMPML bus depot at Swargate, police said, adding that they were detained and released some time later.
"The decision to not run Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited's buses will impact people who work in factories, banks, hospitals etc. The state government must not misuse its power to impose such restrictions in the name of tackling COVID-19," Bapat said.
The decision to impose 6 pm to 6 am curfew in Pune from April 3 for seven days was taken a after review meeting chaired by state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday.
The COVID-19 tally in Pune increased by a record 9,086 in a 24-hour period ending Friday, taking the district's tally to 5,51,508.