Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar will meet the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday and make a strong case for further relaxations in the lockdown 5.0 which will be in place in containment zones up to June 30 in Maharashtra. He met the party ministers and MPs on Tuesday evening and reportedly expressed displeasure over the relaxations granted in phases on June 3, 5, and 8 saying that they were not enough to revive the economy which is badly hit because of the coronavirus pandemic and the nationwide lockdown.
A senior Minister told FPJ,’’ It is true that our party chief wants the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to further open up activities so that the supply chain is improved and it will help keep the economy rolling. Industrial, agricultural, and services sectors expect more relaxation across the state as the lockdown has impacted them badly. In Mumbai, which is the commercial capital of the country, Pawar suggested that the financial and services sector need to be opened up as there are reports of salary and job cuts.
The presence of 10% of the staff in private offices is too short and it needs to be increased further.’’ The minister informed that Pawar reiterated that the government should continue to pursue the proposal for the commencement of suburban rail services which can initially ferry essential services staff.
Another minister said Pawar was of the view the private offices can function with 50% staff on alternate days till the lockdown is fully lifted in Mumbai. The private offices in the rest of Maharashtra should be allowed near full capacity.
Party MP said that Pawar also expressed a lack of proper coordination between the government and bureaucracy. ‘’Undoubtedly, Mumbai is in focus because of increasing coronavirus cases and also the steps are taken to curb the spread. However, the administration needs to pay attention to other districts too where the cases are on the rise after the migrants reaching to their home districts. Pawar wants district administration to pull up the socks and take necessary measures to avoid spurt in cases and at the same time concentrate on the revival of the rural economy,’’ he noted.
