After a long high-profile cabinet meeting today, the Government of Telangana announced a complete lockdown in the state for 10 days starting from tomorrow i.e., the 12th of May. This decision is seen as a measure to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the state. For the coming 10 days, people can go out to buy essential commodities only from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.
On Tuesday, the council of ministers headed by KCR met at the residence of Kalvakuntla Chandra Shekhar Rao at 2 p.m. to discuss the imposing of lockdown in the state. Later, the Chief Minister Office (CMO) announced through their Twitter handle that the cabinet has decided to impose a full lockdown in the state. Their statement read, “The State Cabinet has decided to impose lockdown for 10 days starting 10 am tomorrow. The lockdown will be relaxed from 6 am to 10 am for people to buy essentials. The Council of Ministers has also invited global tenders for procuring COVID-19 vaccine.” This declaration also came after the High Court ordered the state government to decide before 3 p.m. on the 11th of May about the spread of the novel coronavirus.
But, after the decision broke out, the High court raised eyebrows at the state government. “Just last weekend, the government ruled out the option of lockdown and stated that the situation in Telangana was under control, and today, just a couple of days after the statement, the government imposed a complete lockdown. This can affect the people who are here from other states in search of work and they need enough time to get back to their homes safely,” a statement from the High court read.
This complete lockdown to break the chain of the virus will allow a relaxation of 4 hours, where shops will be open for essential commodities from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. In these four hours, wine shops and public transportations including Metro trains and RTC buses will be open. Essential services like medical shops will function round-the-clock.
What’s open?
- Shops that sell food, groceries, fruits, vegetables, meat, etc.
- Home delivery of essential items.
- Banks, insurance offices, and ATMs.
- Petrol, diesel pumps will be open and the transportation on national highways will continue as usual.
- Government offices.
- Cooking gas filling station.
- Ration shops from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.
- Print and electronic media works.
- Cold Storage and warehouses.
What’s closed?
- Hotels, restaurants, hospitality services.
- Cinema halls, shopping malls, gyms, and all similar public places.
- Any political and social gatherings are prohibited.
- All religious places.
- Schools, colleges, and all educational institutions remain closed.
Guidelines:
- Weddings with pre-permission will be allowed with a maximum capacity of 40 people.
- Funeral with a maximum of 20 people.
- Offices can work with 33 percent of staff.
- Checkpoints in state borders with strict monitoring.
The cabinet also ordered the police forces to take strict actions on anyone violating the rules stated. Just a few minutes after the announcement of the complete lockdown, wine shops and grocery marts flooded with customers. Visuals state that the panic-buyers had no social distancing and in several places, security had to step in to make sure the social distancing was followed.
Although, a clear statement from the government about vaccine drive, to-and-fro from other states is yet to be released. Sources state that the government has called for global tenders to augment vaccine supply in the state, and it is believed that vaccination drive for citizens above the age of 18 will start from June in Telangana.
It is to recall that the state has already imposed a night curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. a couple of weeks ago, but that didn’t seem to affect the spread of the virus much. Hence, the decision of a complete lockdown for 10 days starting from tomorrow followed.
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