You take precautions, government will take responsibility, says Uddhav

As expected the lockdown in Maharashtra has been extended to April 30 Declaring this on Saturday CM Uddhav Thackeray said relaxation would be facilitated in some places but restrictions in the hotspots would be stricter than those in place since March 25 The state had declared a lockdownlike situation on March 18 itselfThe decision came after PM Narendra Modi held a video conference with state CMs The deliberations lasted over four hours in which all agreed to extend the lockdown by at least two weeks Punjab and Odisha had announced the extension earlier in the weekThackeray said he had gone to the meeting with a resolve not to withdraw restrictions after April 14 I told the PM that if others were not in favour of continuing with the present restrictions I would definitely extend the lockdown in Maharashtra beyond April 14 for at least two weeks he said in a webcast There is no other option but to extend the lockdown at least till April 30 It could be lifted after that only if we are disciplined in following the restrictions There will be relaxations in some places I will notify the public about it But the measures would be strictest ever in hotspots he saidThackeray gave the PM and his counterparts from other states the example of Sangli district which has controlled the pandemic with strict enforcement containment screening and healthcare preparedness The district hasnt reported a new patient all of April after recording 25 in MarchWe will share further details of the extended lockdown before April 14 We will also ell you what will be done about labourers workers and industries You take precautions the government will take responsibility he said assuring citizens that supplies would continue to be available and like the previous lockdown period there will not be any restriction on farmingrelated activitiesDuring the video conference the leaders also discussed relaxation of the lockdown for certain sectors Decisions to be taken henceforth would be uniform across the state but states may take situationbased measures The restrictions would be stricter for hotspots like Mumbai Thane Pune and Delhi which have higher number of casesThe CMs asked for a national lockdown instead of statespecific restrictions They suggested that surface and air transport should not be started However they said the supply chain logistics shouldnt be affected by the lockdown But interstate and interdistrict borders would continue to be sealed for human and private vehicle movementFearing a complete economic breakdown the states also asked for financial aid packages from the Centre and advised that some sectors such fishing and agriculture be opened for operations because they are directly related to the countrys food requirements They also wanted relief for the agricultural and industrial sectors in their statesAgriculture has emerged crucial in the current circumstances because its harvesting season According to experts the standing crop needs to be taken off the fields and carried to the warehouses and market places Perishable farm commodities must reach customers And where harvesting is completed the farms need to be prepared for the next rainfed sowing season Maharashtra has not stopped agriculturerelated activities but farmers havent ventured out because of risk factors PM Modi has accepted the suggestion for withdrawing restrictions on fishing and farmingCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news