Lockdown is back in Maharashtra but in a curtailed form — ‘mini-lockdown’ of sorts. The Uddhav Thackeray government has ordered to impose complete lockdown this weekend from 8 pm on Friday to 7 am on Monday. Only essential services and transportation including buses, trains, taxis will be permitted.
The announcement has come as a shock for the hospitality industry, which had slowly started recovering after last year’s lockdown. A Mumbai-based news organisation quoted the members of the industry as saying that their businesses have been stalled again by the ‘night curfew’, which is as good as a lockdown as the bulk of their business starts only after 8 pm.
President of Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR) Shivanand Shetty was quoted: “The 8 pm-7 am time restriction is a lockdown for restaurants. We have been adhering to stringent SOPs and supporting the administration but this latest move came without consulting the industry and also at the wrong time. According to the new rules, restaurants are permitted only for take away and parcel services.
The New Maharashtra Lockdown: Know More About It
• Maharashtra, which is already under coronavirus restrictions that include a ban on public gatherings, will be under a night time curfew from 8:00 pm to 7:00 am.
• On weekends, there will be a full lockdown starting at 8:00 pm on Fridays and going through till 7:00 am on Mondays. Only essential businesses can operate during this time. For offices, employees will have to work from home.
• The state will also shut down malls, cinema halls, bars and restaurants. Salons, beauty parlours will also remain closed. Theatres, drama theatres will be shut, while film and television shootings will continue if there is no crowding. Parks and playgrounds will also be closed.
• Transportation will permit passengers to travel based on their seating capacity. Rickshaw, Taxi and personal vehicles will commute with 50% seating capacity
• Industries and production sector, vegetable markets will function with Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) and construction sites will operate if there is accommodation facility for workers.
• Siddhivinayak temple has stopped darshan from 8 pm on Monday. Issuance of QR code for worship has also been discontinued. Live pooja on digital platform will only be available. Saibaba temple in Shirdi has also decided to keep it shut.
• The Mumbai Police on Monday issued prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC banning the assembly of five or more people at public places in the city from 7 am to 8 pm from Mondays to Fridays till April 30.
• All beaches in Mumbai will remain shut for visitors till April 30, the civic body announced. Municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal issued the order to this effect directing all assistant municipal commissioners to ensure that all the beaches remain shut throughout this month. “In continuation and confirmation of the said orders, the additional restrictions need to be strictly followed by all assistant commissioners of wards to control and arrest the spread of coronavirus on war footing,” stated the circular.
These restrictions will last until 30 April, the government said.
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