UP govt to reopen partially from April 20

The Uttar Pradesh government will resume working partially from April 20 as per the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs for the extended lockdown till May 3.

Accordingly, government offices will reopen with minimal staff.

UP Chief Secretary R.K. Tiwari issued a detailed advisory for offices and industries that will be allowed to start operations in UP, subject to conditions.

These sectors include steel, refineries, cement, chemicals, fertilisers, garments (excluding apparel), foundries, paper, tyre, effluent treatment plants and sugar mills.

However, only manufacturing and industrial units will be permitted to function and not their headquarters or administrative offices.

Government offices, including health services (including AYUSH), will start functioning with minimum staff.

“In the first phase, units should work with a minimum staff. In no case they would be allowed to function with over 50 per cent of the total workforce. The permission is being granted only to units and not to their administrative offices. The permission will not be applicable to units located in the hotpots,” the government spokesman said.

Dispensaries, chemists, pharmacies, all kinds of medicine shops, including Jan Aushadhi Kendras, medical equipment shops, veterinary hospitals, dispensaries, clinics, pathology labs, and sale and supply of vaccine and medicine will be allowed.

Authorised private establishments, which support the provisioning of essential services, or efforts for containment of Covid-19, including home care providers, diagnostics, and supply chain firms serving hospitals will also start functioning from April 20.

Petrol pumps, gas agencies and LPG outlets will also be open from April 20.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, after reviewing the state’s economic situation, has directed Industries Minister Satish Mahana and MSME Minister Siddhartha Nath Singh to establish contact with ambassadors of various countries to attract investments to state.

Adityanath has also asked Financial Advisor K.V. Raju and former Chief Secretary Anup Chandra Pandey to prepare a plan for it.

The government spokesman further said that before commencing operations, owners will have to ensure that there are sufficient masks, sanitisers, soap and water for the staff.

Once the staff reports for duty, the owner or manager will have to carry out a random test of minimum of five and maximum of 10 workers.

All workers will need to be screened thermally and infrared thermometers should also be available on site. Social distancing rules will have to be strictly followed.

The Chief Secretary said the implementation of rules will be ensured by the district administration and the health department.-IANS News