Have to protect ourselves: Modi
NEWDELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that the next phase of India’s lockdown, from May 18, will be entirely new, in a new form and with new rules, to meet the twin objectives of battling the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) as well as moving ahead to meet other national objectives.
During his address to the nation on Tuesday night, the PM said, “Experts and scientists have told us that the coronavirus is here to stay in our lives for a long time. But, at the same time, we cannot let our lives revolve only around the virus. We will wear masks, we will abide by social distancing, but we will not get distracted from our goals.”
This is why, the PM said, the new phase of the lockdown — lockdown 4.0 — would assume new contours and be based on new rules. “States are giving us their inputs and advice. Based on that, all details about lockdown will be provided before May 18.” He said that he had complete faith that while abiding by rules, the country would both battle the disease and move forward.
The PM’s remarks came on the 49th day of the lockdown. In the first phase, which lasted till April 14, there was a blanket ban on all activities. In the second phase, till May 3, there were relaxations introduced, particularly in rural areas, and for a limited set of economic activities to resume. In the ongoing third phase, from May 4, the government — based on a categorisation of areas into red, orange and green zones and containment zones — stipulated restrictions and relaxations in varying degrees. This included opening up of offices to a limited degree. On Tuesday, the government also resumed the use of passenger train services, albeit to a limited extent on key routes.
The PM announced that the lockdown will have new contours a day after his detailed discussions with chief ministers on the way forward. A majority of the CMs wanted strict enforcement of the lockdown in containment zones, while greater relaxations in other regions.
The PM had said that within a broad national framework, states would take the lead in the battle now — and had asked the states to carefully study which areas they wanted to continue the lockdown in, provide inputs to the Centre by May 15, and emphasised the role of green zones in resuming economic activity. HTC