Uddhav: Sudden lockdown was wrong, will be equally wrong to lift it in one go

Hinting at a possible extension of the ongoing lockdown in his state, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray Sunday said that the "coming time is crucial" and that he cannot say whether the lockdown will be over by May 31. He also observed that it was wrong to impose the lockdown suddenly and that it cannot be lifted now all at once.

"We can't say that the lockdown will be over by May 31. We will have to see how we will go forward. The coming time is crucial as the multiplication of virus is picking up," Thackeray said in a video address.

"It was wrong to impose the lockdown suddenly. It will be equally wrong to lift it in one go. It will be a double whammy for our own people," he added.

Stating that the fight against Covid-19 is going to be "tougher", the Chief Minister asked people to not panic as the state is "prepared with extra health facilities". He also advised residents to take extra precautions keeping in mind the upcoming monsoon season.

Maharashtra continues to remain the epicentre of Covid-19 in the country with over 47,000 cases and 1,577 deaths, the highest in the country.

On the resumption of domestic flights from Monday, Thackeray said he had spoken to Union Civil Aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri and that he had requested him to give some time to do preparations before resuming domestic air travel.

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Thackeray, whose party Shiv Sena parted ways with long-term ally BJP last year, also said that the Union government has been of little help, but added that he would not indulge in any political mudslinging. "The Maharashtra government has not yet received its due GST amount. The Centres share of train ticket cost (for facilitating transportation of migrant labourers to their native places) is yet to be received. There is still a shortage of some medicines. Earlier, we did face a shortage of PPE kits and other equipment," he said.

(Input and image from theindianexpress.com)