The Centre is considering a request made by most states to extend the ongoing nationwide lockdown by two weeks beyond April 14, the government said on Saturday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with chief ministers and told them the focus should be now on ensuring health as well as prosperity of the nation.
During the video-conference with the CMs today, most statesrequested Prime Minister Modi to extend the lockdown for two more weeks, agovernment spokesperson said. “The Central Government is considering thisrequest.”
An official statement about the interaction later said thattalking about the exit plan from the lockdown, Modi said there seems to be aconsensus amongst the states on extending the lockdown by two weeks.
“He underlined that the motto of the government earlier was’jaan hai to jahaan hai (saving lives)’ but now is ‘jaan bhi jahaan bhi (savinglives as well as making the country prosperous),” the statement said.
There are indications that an extension in the lockdown maycome with certain relaxations to boost economic activities. Sources saidproposals being considered include diluting the restrictions in areasunaffected by the virus.
The ongoing 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain theCOVID-19 crisis is scheduled to end on April 14.
After the interaction, Karnataka Chief Minister B SYediyurappa said the lockdown post April 14 would be different from the ongoingthree-week lockdown.
He said the PM told the chief ministers that the extensionof the lockdown was inevitable and guidelines will be issued in a couple ofdays on its implementation for further 15 days.
According to the statement, during his interaction, Modi,himself wearing a white mask, told the CMs, “While announcing the lockdown, Ihad said ‘jaan hai to jahan hai’… Most people in the country understood itand discharged their responsibilities by remaining indoors. And now it isimperative to focus on both aspects, ‘jaan bhi jahan bhi’, for India’s brightfuture, and a prosperous and healthy India.”
He said if every citizen does his work while keeping boththese aspects in mind and follows government instructions, the country’s fightagainst COVID-19 will get further strengthened.
Farmers and industry bodies have sought certain relaxationsduring the lockdown to carry out necessary activities.
During the video conference with Modi, several chiefministers including Punjab’s Amarinder Singh, West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee andDelhi’s Arvind Kejriwal suggested extending the lockdown at least by afortnight.
Odisha and Punjab have already extended the lockdown tillApril 30 and May 1 respectively.
The CMs also sought financial and fiscal assistance from theCentre to boost their resources in this fight against the pandemic, thestatement said.
Reflecting on the fight so far, Modi said that the combinedeffort of the Centre and the states have helped minimize the impact of COVID-19on the country.
But as the situation is rapidly evolving, constant vigilanceis paramount, the statement said. “He emphasized the criticality of coming 3-4weeks for determining the impact of the steps taken till now to contain thevirus.”
The prime minister also used the opportunity to assure thestate that India has adequate supplies of essential medicines. He warnedagainst blackmarketing and hoarding. On the shortage of personal protectiveequipment (PPE) for medical professions, the PM said that measures are beingtaken to ensure availability of protective gear and critical equipment for allfrontline workers.
He also condemned the instances of attacks on doctors andmedical staff, and misbehavior with students from the North-East and Kashmir.
Modi underlined that such cases need to be dealt withfirmly. He also spoke about the need to curb lockdown violations and ensurethat social-distancing is followed.
The government has stressed since there is no medicine orvaccine to cure COVID-19, social distancing must be followed to curb itsspread.
During the interaction, Modi talked about strengtheninghealthcare infrastructure and reaching out to patients through telemedicine.
He also suggested that direct marketing of farm produce canbe incentivised to prevent crowding at mandis, for which model agricultureproduce marketing committee (APMC) laws should be reformed.
The PM also referred to the Aarogya Setu app and spoke aboutpopularising it to ensure downloads in greater numbers.
“Based on those experiences, India has made its own effortthrough the app which will be an essential tool in India’s fight against thepandemic … He also referred to the possibility of the app being an e-passwhich could subsequently facilitate travel from one place to another,” thestatement said.
Talking about the economic challenges arising out of thehealth crisis, Modi said it is an opportunity to become self-reliant and turnthe nation into an economic powerhouse.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah,Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and some senior officials, including from theUnion Health Ministry were present during the meet.
The CMs who attended the meeting included Mamata Banerjee(West Bengal), Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra), Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh),Manohar Lal (Haryana), K Chandrashekhar Rao (Telangana) and Nitish Kumar(Bihar).