@the_news_21
Mumbai: Leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) do not seem to be on the same page on the re-imposition of lockdown in the state. Of late, hints of imposing a state-wide lockdown have been given by Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar, State Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope and others to contain the spread of the raging virus. Although strict restrictions and lockdown have been limited to certain districts where cases are surging, state-wide lockdown seems to be on the table of the government which is battling to control the virus.
Expressing reservation on imposing lockdown, Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has opined that if lockdown is imposed then compensation amount should be directly transferred into the bank accounts of beneficiaries whose income would be hit by it.
Chavan said there has been a rapid rise in Covid cases in the state. He said the surge in daily cases of infectious disease is more than that witnessed in 2020.
“The second wave of Covid which began from Amravati and Nagpur in Vidarbha has spread in Mumbai-Pune region and other parts of the state. Against this backdrop, divergent views are emanating from the people in the administration, medical experts, industrialist and the common man.”, Chavan said.
He said even though the industrialists and experts from the medical field can express their views strongly but still, it has created a difficult situation for the state government.
“Under such circumstances, if re-imposing lockdown becomes inevitable, then certain aspects will have to be kept in mind by the government,” said Chavan.
He further said common people should be given prior information before the lockdown is imposed. He suggested that the duration of lockdown should be less.
Also Read: COVID-19 in Mumbai: BMC to release asymptomatic patients to ensure beds for needy
Referring to the direct fund transfer in some foreign countries, the senior Congress leader asserted that if people hit due to the lockdown then a specific amount should be transferred into their bank accounts. “MP and MLAs fund should be utilized in such time of contingency”, he added.
Apart from this, he said, people should be permitted to travel in private vehicles. He further said that agriculture products and other industrial goods should be transported uninterruptedly and it should be ensured that the supply chain is not affected. Chavan also emphasized on large-scale vaccination drive.
Hitting out at the Centre for last year’s sudden lockdown, he said more than three crore people were thrown below the poverty line.
“There was no planning in the lockdown. It was announced all of a sudden. Without comprehending the situation that would arise from the decision it affected the country’s economy hard”, he lamented.
The BJP has strongly opposed the re-imposition of lockdown in the state. “Lockdown is not an answer to the rise in Covid cases”, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said.
Lambasting the state government, he said, the government did not give a financial package of a single penny. Criticising chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, he said, by sitting in ‘Matoshree’ one cannot understand the ordeal of the common man in the period of lockdown.
