Will remove Covid curbs ASAP: CM Kejriwal
New Delhi: The Delhi government does not want the livelihood of people to be affected and Covid restrictions will be eased as soon as possible, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asserted on Tuesday even as the daily positivity rate dipped further to 10.55 per cent in the 10 days since the peak of this wave — with 6,028 fresh cases and 31 more deaths from the virus reported in a day.
Restrictions were put in place in view of people's health, Kejriwal said after hoisting the national flag at the Delhi government's Republic Day function, adding: "Delhiites have suffered the most due to Covid. We don't want that your livelihood is affected but your health is important, so we had to put restrictions."
Noticing the decline in cases and the positivity rate, the Delhi government had last week proposed to lift the weekend and night curfew along with easing the odd-even rule for marketplaces. However, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority — led by L-G Anil Baijal, rejected these options and chose to continue with the curbs.
As a reaction, traders and shopkeepers in the city have threatened to protest this decision and asked that these restrictions be eased because they are going through unbearable losses due to the pandemic. In fact, on Tuesday, the Chamber of Trade and Industry launched a campaign against the curbs with representatives from as many as 50 marketplaces participating in a rally from Kashmere Gate.
In addition to this, several traders have made repeated representations to the Delhi government and the L-G seeking that these curbs be lifted. Significantly, Delhi Assembly's LoP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri (BJP) and the Delhi BJP chief have also written to the L-G with all Opposition MLAs here also meeting with the L-G over this on Tuesday.
"Last week some traders had come and they said they are facing lots of problems due to the odd-even scheme and weekend curfew. The L-G agreed to some proposals and on some, he differed.
We will remove these restrictions as soon as possible," Kejriwal said in his R-Day address.
Soon after the DDMA announced that it would continue with the curbs, the Aam Aadmi Party
has alleged that L-G Baijal (an appointee of the BJP-run Centre) was being anti-business and several
traders and market associations have spoken out against him.
On Tuesday, the CM said: "I noticed that the people are showing resentment towards him on social media. I want to tell those people, our Lieutenant Governor has done this in his wise wisdom. He is a good man; he is concerned about public health and wants to protect all citizens. We all gain no pleasure in imposing restrictions. I assure everyone, we are working together to find solutions."
The Chief Minister added that on January 15, the highest positivity rate was reported which was about 30 per cent but that it had reduced to 10 per cent in the last 10 days. This was only possible due to the consistent efforts to ensure 100 per cent Covid vaccine coverage, Kejriwal said, thanking Delhi's officers, doctors and other frontline workers for tackling the pandemic every step of the way.
Meanwhile, the health bulletin for Tuesday showed that there are now 42,010 active cases in the city and the toll from the virus has risen to 25,681.
