TS lockdown for 10 more days, relaxation till 1 pm State to auction lands for funding welfare schemes

Extra hour of grace period for people to reach home

The state government has decided to extend the lockdown in Telangana state by 10 more days until June

9 to contain the spread of Coronavirus. The decision comes in the wake of an everyday decrease in the number of Covid-19 cases in the state.

However, the relaxation period has been increased to seven hours every day from 6 am to 1 pm. The Cabinet has also decided to give grace period of one hour till 2 pm to enable people to reach homes after relaxation time.The

17-hour lockdown will be enforced from 1 pm to 6 am from May 31 to June 9. It was decided to implement the lockdown strictly from

2 pm to 6 am, the next day. The decision was taken in the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao at Pragathi Bhavan on Sunday.

The state government had imposed a 20-hour lockdown across the state since May 12 from 10 am to

6 am with a four-hour relaxation from 6 am to 10 am, which ended on May

30.

It had initially imposed a night curfew across the state from 8 pm to 7 am from April 20 after Covid second wave led to a steep increase in Covid-19 cases and deaths. It was followed by 20-hour lockdown from May 12 to May 30.

The state Cabinet which met on Sunday has decided to auction land belonging to the government and the TS Housing Board to raise funds for welfare schemes, development programmes and to tide over the Covid-induced financial crisis since March 2020.

The government is planning to raise `30,000 crore through the auction of lands this fiscal (2021-22). The Cabinet directed Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to initiate immediate steps for auctioning of lands. It has decided to

Accordingly, the offices of stamps and registrations and RTA offices will function till 1 pm.

The Cabinet directed health officials to tour Khammam, Madhira, Sattupally, Alampur, Gadwal, Narayanpet, Makthal, Nagarjunasagar, Kodad and Huzurnagar, which are witnessing higher Coronavirus positive cases and take steps to contain the virus. It also directed the officials to be on high alert in the wake of reports of the occurrence of Covid-19 third wave.

Page 2: Officials to review

infra in govt hosps

P.SURENDRA Police stop vehicles plying near Rail Nilayam in Secunderabad on Sunday to check if they have a valid reason for being on the road during the lockdown. —

REPORT ON PAGE 3 allow registration of properties and vehicles during lockdown till June 10.