Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday sought suggestions from people and experts on lockdown relaxations post May 17, even as the national capital continued to witness a spike in Coronavirus cases.
The chief minister has asked people to send their suggestions on what they want post May 17 by 5 pm tomorrow on the number 1031. He also shared a WhatsApp number (8800007722) and an e-mail id (delhicm.suggestions@gmail.com) for the same.
Kejriwal further said that the Delhi government will send its proposal on easing of lockdown restrictions in the national capital to the Centre on Thursday.
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a meeting with the ministers, had hinted at an extension of the nationwide lockdown for the third time beyond May 17, but with more relaxations.
The video conference with the chief ministers focused on ways to strengthen the COVID-19 containment strategy and stepping up of economic activities in a calibrated manner post the 54-day shutdown.
PM Modi also asked the chief ministers to share by May 15 a broad strategy on how they want to deal with lockdown regime in their states.
Speaking on his part, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal suggested that all economic activities should be allowed in the national capital except in containment zones.
The Delhi CM also called for lifting more curbs in Delhi, all of which has been designated a Red Zone.
The Delhi government is in favour of allowing all offices, industries, markets and e-commerce with precautions like physical distancing, masks and face-shields, limiting the number of people, as reported by NDTV.
Delhi is among the worst-hit states. As many as 13 deaths and 406 new positive cases were reported in Delhi in 24 hours till Monday midnight, taking the total number of cases to 7,639 and deaths to 86.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain earlier in the day said that the doubling rate in Delhi is 11 days now, which was earlier 3 or 4 days. He said that if the doubling rate of Coronavirus reaches 18, 20 or 25 days, it would become comfortable for Delhi.
Last week during an online press conference, the Delhi CM had said that the national capital is in favour of lifting the lockdown and the citizens need to learn to live with the coronavirus.
“The time has come to re-open Delhi. We will have to be ready to live with coronavirus,” Delhi Chief Minister said in a video press conference.
“We are prepared in terms of hospitals and kits. We are suggesting to the Union government that all containment zones should remain sealed. Rest they can start terming as green zones. Shops can be opened on an odd-even basis. Even after the complete lifting of lockdown, if a few cases increase, we are prepared to handle that as well,” he had said.
However, his remarks were not validated by the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan who later said that Delhi should allow “only minimum relaxations”.
He had asserted that stringent measures are required to tackle the highly contagious Coronavirus in Delhi.
The health minister had also blamed people in metros like Delhi and Mumbai for not following the lockdown guidelines properly. He said that not following lockdown measures is one of the main reasons these cities are not performing well in controlling the spread of Coronavirus as compared to other cities in the country.
Meanwhile, in Delhi, stationery shops, standalone and neighbourhood shops and residential lane shops for both essential and non-essential services have allowed to remain open. Also, self-employed people like technicians, plumbers, electricians and household help are now allowed to begin work.
Most of the commercial and private establishments have been allowed in Delhi — print and electronic media, IT and IT enabled services, data and call centres, cold storage and warehousing services, private security and facility management services.
Services provided by self-employed persons — electrician, plumber, lift technician, A/C mechanic, vehicle mechanic, generator mechanic, TV mechanic, Dish TV/ Cable/ CCTV mechanic, Computer and Internet service provider, opticians, private security guards/ supervisors, gas service, CNG pipeline technicians, sanitation workers, domestic helps/ maids, laundry and press-wala — are permitted along with shops related to raw material of self-employed persons and in-situ construction activities.
Private offices have been allowed to operate with upto 33 per cent strength as per requirement. All government offices under non-essential category will function with senior officers of the level of Deputy Secretary and above at full strength, and the remaining staff attending up to 33 per cent as per the requirement.
The Delhi government has also allowed state-run liquor shops to operate from 9 am to 6.30 pm in the city, and directed deployment of marshals at these outlets to maintain social distancing.
However, all inter-state buses, metros, air travel and autos remain suspended.
Reporting a revenue loss of about Rs 3,200 crore in April compared to the previous year, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that the lockdown was making it difficult for the government to pay salaries to its employees.