Decision on Maharashtra lockdown after April 14, says state health minister Rajesh Tope
Maharashtra Covid-19 task force is of the view that the prevailing coronavirus situation in the state is such that a lockdown is required, says health minister Rajesh Tope
BusinessToday.In | April 12, 2021 | Updated 09:28 IST
Maharahstra health minister Rajesh Tope
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has said that the final decision on lockdown in Maharashtra will be taken after April 14. Speaking to the media after a meeting of the COVID task force with chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday, Tope said the situation in Maharashtra is such that the lockdown was required to break the COVID-19 virus chain.
Synopsis
Traders, however, sought to defy the curbs on the argument that about half the businesses were operational using the ‘essential’ tag and e-commerce companies had the full freedom to sell even non-essential items through the partial lockdown.
Trader unrest is brewing across Maharashtra, where only shops selling essential items are allowed to remain open. Barring Pune and Mumbai, traders tried to open their shops on Monday, but the police ensured that such outlets were again shut. Shop-owners argued that web-commerce firms, allowed to operate through the curbs, had an unfair advantage.
However, at places like Kolhapur, shops selling non-essential items remained open, reportedly due to the support of some elected representatives.
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