States go for lockdowns, night curfews to keep nos. in check

New Delhi: With several states witnessing a spike in the Covid figures, the only alternative left with the respective governments seems to be the imposition of strict curbs or complete lockdown.

Maharashtra is heading towards a complete lockdown, suggested state Cabinet minister Aslam Shaikh on Tuesday. The guidelines would be unveiled soon, he said.

"Looking at the shortage of supply of medical oxygen, Maharashtra is heading towards a complete lockdown; guidelines regarding it will be announced soon," Shaikh said.

State Health minister Rajesh Tope said a request was submitted to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, by all the ministers, to impose a total lockdown from 8 pm on April 21.

Delhi has already gone into lockdown from Monday onwards for six days with the priority task being the implementation of tightness in restrictions and necessary action against those found flouting the Covid lockdown rules.

Karnataka has also declared a complete curfew on weekends and during nights to check the exponential rise in Covid-19 cases and fatalities. The weekend curfew across the state will begin at 9 am on Friday and continue till 6 am on Monday. It will be in place for the next three weeks. The timings of the night curfew that will continue till May 4 have been extended from 9 pm and 6 am.

Similarly, the Jharkhand government on Tuesday declared a one-week lockdown starting from April 22 to check the spread of Coronavirus cases, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said.

The decision to enforce lockdown from April 22 to April 29 was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Minister. Soren said the period will be observed as 'health safety week'. He said curfew under Section 144 of the CrPC will be in force across Jharkhand during this time to prevent the gathering of more than five persons at a public place.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday decided to impose a weekend curfew from Friday evening to Monday morning in the entire state till further orders amid the rising cases of infections. In a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the government, besides ordering a nearly 60-hour-long weekend curfew, also decided to keep all non-essential activities suspended in all districts of the state having 500 or more active cases.

It also decided to continue with the night-long curfew on weekdays throughout the state, a senior official said. The Telangana government on Tuesday announced a night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am, till May 1 in a bid to control the second wave of the pandemic. The orders came a day after the high court pulled up the state for not taking any action to curb the spread of the pandemic. Implementing a slew of restrictive measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Assam, the government announced on Tuesday that all establishments, including markets, shops and restaurants will be closed by 6 pm in the state.