Will districts with no cases be the first to be unlocked?
Districts with no cases could get priority during a staggered return to normal activity NON-ESSENTIAL PUBLIC GATHERINGS, AND THE REOPENING OF PUBLIC PLACES SUCH AS MALLS AND CINEMA HALLS AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ARE LIKELY TO TAKE SOME MORE TIME
in most parts, but issue curfew passes to allow harvesting from April 15. Rabi harvest would be procured from villages, and some industrial activity in Jalandhar and Ludhiana may be allowed in staggered manner with social distancing rules in force. “A final call will be taken on April 12 or 13,” said Suresh Kumar, Punjab chief minister’s chief principal secretary.
The state is in favour of opening all farm markets to allow farmers to sell their produce; it wants office and business establishments to be allowed to function with staggered timings; and restoration of some interstate transport services, said Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, advisor to chief minister on public affairs.
Reddy added that the state will likely send in its suggestions to the PM by April 8.
Kerala has allowed leaf plucking and other activities in sprawling tea estates of Idukki and Wayanad, but with strict riders. “We have given strict instruction to keep social distancing when they work. The district administration and labour officers of the area will monitor this,” said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The decision came after some establishments threatened to close their units permanently.
.(Pankaj Jaiswal in Lucknow, Surendra Gangan in Mumbai, Sachin Saini in Jaipur, Ranjan in Bhopal and Navneet Sharma and Hitender Rao in Chandigarh contributed to this story).