Ajit Pawar takes dig at Centre says celebrate Holi at personal level

Amid relentless Covid-19 case surge, Ajit Pawar says decision on possible Pune lockdown on April 2. All schools, colleges will continue to remain shut till April 30, SSC and MPSC exams to be held as per schedule

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Pune: Taking a dig at the Centre over muted Holi celebrations in north India, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and District Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday remarked that Holi festivities should be celebrated at a personal level.

Already many municipal corporations of cities like Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune have banned public celebrations of Holi. Elsewhere in the country, Rajasthan has imposed restrictions on public celebration of Holi. However, Uttar Pradesh’s ‘Lathmar Holi’ was celebrated in Barsana of Mathura district earlier today. New Delhi government too has banned public Holi celebrations.

As there is an alarming surge in Covid-19 cases and fatalities in Pune which is the worst affected district in India, Ajit Pawar on Friday hinted at a possible lockdown unless there was a dramatic improvement in the pandemic situation. Pawar said that the decision on whether or not to impose a lockdown would be taken at the next review meeting on April 2.

Till then, the present orders to shut-down all schools and other educational institutions in Pune has been extended till April 30. 

He said this while speaking to newspersons after his review meeting with all elected representatives of the district as well as top administrative officials. 

Also Read: Nagpur Civic Body issues order for Holi, Shab-e-Barat celebrations, not more than five people allowed

“Next week, we will be taking a decision on whether to impose a lockdown or not. Even medical authorities seem to agree that if we have to break the virus chain, a lockdown is the only imperative,” Pawar added. 

While arguing that he was opposed to imposing a stringent lockdown, he warned that the administration would be left with no other alternative but to take strong measures if pandemic norms were not strictly adhered to. 

“The Covid-19 situation in Pune is getting grim by every passing day. If it continues to deteriorate further, then we shall be left with no alternative but take stern measures. Even now, with heightened case spikes reported each day, I find people roaming on the streets without any fear, flouting rules with impunity by not wearing masks. Such errant behaviour must stop immediately,” remarked Pawar further.

The Pune district Guardian Minister further clarified that Class 10 and 12 exams, as well as the remaining exam papers of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) would be held as scheduled. He further announced that all political programmes would be banned in the district from April 1 onwards. 

Night curfew rules will continue to be the same, while public gardens will remain open only in the mornings. 

With Pune district constantly clocking a record daily spike of more than 6,000 fresh cases and more than 40 fatalities, Pune’s active case tally is nudging the 50,000-mark while its total death toll has climbed to 9,724 deaths.  

The active Covid-19 case figures are worse than the peak of the so-called ‘first wave’ which had engulfed the district in August-September last year. However, now Pune’s active case tally has stood at 42,000 cases. 

Meanwhile, in a bid to stem the drastic rise in cases, Pawar informed that the administration would be requisitioning 50% of the total beds in private hospitals to cater to the treatment of Covid-19 patients. 

He informed that the vaccination drive would be ramped up in the coming days. 

“We plan to double the vaccination centres in the district. So, the present total of 316 centres will soon be increased to 600 in a bid to expedite vaccination. Here, the only worry is whether the Centre can send us the required number of doses,” he said, adding that the bed capacity of Sassoon General Hospital has been increased from 300 to 500, while the sample testing capacity there has been increased to 2,000. 

Pune district has also been testing the maximum samples in the State, achieving an average daily figure of more than 20,000 and peaking at 25,000.