Most states favoured an lockdown extension in india as they feared that ending the lockdown could result in a spurt in cases.
After a reportedly 4-hour-long meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the chief ministers of various states, the broad consensus was that India will have to stay at home for two more weeks as the country tries to stem a corona virus outbreak that has claimed over 200 lives and infected more than 7,000 people on last count.
The lockdown extension in india, effective March 25, is supposed to end on April 14. The prime minister in his interaction stressed on the need to not only to save lives, but livelihoods too by underlining the motto of ‘jaan hai to jahaan hai’ [when you have life, you have the world]. A majority of the states at the meeting were for extending the lockdown .
The final call now rests with the PM, who may consider the extension reportedly with some relaxations. He is likely to make an announcement soon.
Here is what the states have done so far for lockdown extension in india:
- Maharashtra (Total cases: 1574, Deaths: 110*): Has extended the ongoing lockdown till April 30. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said the lockdown can be relaxed in certain areas while on others it will become stricter. He also said that the decision on lifting the curbs completely after April 30 will be taken depending upon the prevailing situation.
- Andhra Pradesh (Total cases: 381, Deaths: 6): Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy wants lockdown extended, but limited only to identified red zones where Covid is prevalent.
- Karnataka (Total cases: 214, Deaths: 6): Lockdown will continue for another 15 days, but wants relaxations in a graded manner. Farm sector in the state may get some breather in this extension.
- Telangana (Total cases: 504, Deaths: 9): Telangana has extend the lockdown in the state till April 30. CM K. Chandrashekhar Rao said that after April 30, the government may consider lifting the lockdown in phases.
- Chhattisgarh (Total cases: 18, Deaths: 0): Chief minister Bhupesh Baghel is batting for limiting the lockdown, urging the Prime Minister to allow states to carry out economic activities within their borders while favouring continuation of inter-state travel ban.
- Odisha (Total cases: 48, Deaths: 1): Odisha is the first state to extend the lockdown till April 30. The chief minister said that it is a critical juncture where either we can protect the lives of the people or protect the economic activity. Odisha has seen 48 cases since the first case was reported on March 15.
- Punjab (Total cases: 132, Deaths: 11): Punjab was the second state to extend the lockdown/curfew in the entire state till May 1. The decision was taken to prevent the spread of the virus due to overcrowding in mandis post harvesting.
- Delhi (Total cases: 903, Deaths: 14): Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is for an extension of the lockdown. Delhi has seen the third highest number of cases owing to the outbreak reported from the Nizamuddin cluster, which is responsible for almost 30 per cent of the cases nationwide.
- West Bengal (Total cases: 126, Deaths: 5): Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is for an extension. Banerjee said she requested the central government to ensure strict vigil in the border areas, so that no one is able to sneak in during this period.
- Puducherry (Total cases: 7, Death: 0): Territorial Chief Minister V Narayanasamy said the Puducherry government would decide on extending the lockdown beyond April 14 only by taking into account the stand of the governments of neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
- Gujarat (Total cases: 308, Deaths: 19): Gujarat government said that it would follow the recommendations of the Centre on possible extension of ongoing lockdown.
Source: Economic Time
