Mumbai: In Maharashtra’s second capital, Nagpur, there will be a strict lockdown from March 15 to 21 in the Police Commissionerate area necessitated by the rise in Covid-19 cases. This was announced by Nagpur district guardian minister Nitin Raut on Thursday. Essential services will continue to function in this period, while private offices will remain closed; government offices will function at 25 per cent strength.
Ratu said, “Industrial units will continue to operate during this period. There will be no impact on the supply of vegetables, dispensaries and banks will be operational.’’ He added that liquor would only be sold online.
However, he said that government offices associated with treasury and accounts would operate at 100 per cent staff strength, in view of March year-end related work. Media personnel would have to show their identity cards to operate but they would have to undergo RT-PCR testing.
The lockdown was imposed on a day when in all 1,701 new Covid cases, with four deaths, were reported on Thursday in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation limits and 449 other parts of the district.
In a related development, Nanded District Collector Vipin Itankar announced a partial lockdown between March 12 and 21. Private coaching classes, weekly markets, canteens, hair salons and parlours, religious places and political party offices would remain shut in this period. Weddings and social events were completely banned while all shops, except for medical stores, could stay open from 7am to 7pm.
The Dhule district collector has announced a ‘janata curfew’ from March 14 to 17.
In Jalgaon, the three-day ‘janata curfew’ began on Thursday while the Jalna district administration has announced that all bars and permit rooms would remain shut over the next week.
