As India crossed the 70,000 mark in terms of COVID-19 cases and is closing in on 2,300 deaths lockdown 4.0 is sure to come. As the final week of lockdown 3.0 begun on Monday PM Modi had a detailed conference with CMs of the various states. This was 5th such meeting since the pandemic hit the country.
Bihar Chief Minister (CM) Nitish Kumar favored extending the lockdown till the end of May. CM of Punjab and Himachal also called for the same with a focus on the revival of economic activities. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also favored the extension. The CM of Assam also pitched for an extension by a period of 2 weeks.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that states should get autonomy in deciding the duration of lockdown. Some key points mentioned by the CMs apart from lockdown extension were:’
- Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said barring containment zones, economic activities should be allowed. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani expressed similar views.
- Andhra Pradesh CM Jaganmohan Reddy seeks relaxation of lockdown measures, with strict adherence to personal hygiene protocols.
- Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami advised the Prime Minister against the resumption of flight and passenger train services till May 31. Telangana CM also pitched for it.
- Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh demanded a carefully crafted exit strategy providing fiscal support to states.
- Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar urged the Prime Minister to authorize states to decide on their own to resume industrial and economic activities. The CM also called for opening schools, colleges, and educational institutions with 50% strength.
- Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath favored industries located in the green zone and orange zone to run according to the central government’s guidelines.
- Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa favored proposing doing away with district wise color-coding and instead advocated strict cordoning of containment zones
- Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot suggested PM Modi to launch an employment guarantee scheme for urban areas on the lines of the MGNREGA.
Meanwhile, the PMO announced that PM Modi would address the nation tonight at 8:00 PM. This clearly hints at Lockdown 4.0 coming. However, more relaxations in green zones and states with fewer cases are expected. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in his address today invited views from the citizens of Delhi in regards to which things should be given relaxations. The views are invited by the CM until tomorrow at 5 PM. In the meeting, yesterday PM gave time till 15th May to states to submit their views.
