Theatres in Maharashtra should start with proper fire and structural safety checks, says CM Uddhav Thackeray

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said theatres and cinema halls which will reopen in the state from October 22 should start with proper fire and structural safety checksDuring a meeting with officebearers of the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association Thackeray said an appropriate solution would be worked out in coordination with the finance department to address the woes of singlescreen cinema halls that are facing financial difficultiesChief Minister Uddhav Thackeray today said that cinemas in the state should start with proper fire and structural safety checks a statement by the Chief ministers Office said A delegation of the Poona Exhibitors Association demanded that the state government provide concessions for renewal of various licenses as well as free renewal of cinema licenses and permission to levy a service charge of Rs 25 per ticket after payment of the GSTNitin Datar Nimesh Somaiya Sadanand Mohol Ashok Mohol and Prakash Chafalkar presented the demands on behalf of the association NCP President Sharad Pawar state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar Transport Minister Anil Parab Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister Ashish Kumar Singh Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Vikas Kharge and Director General of Police Sanjay Pandey were present on the occasionIt was assured during the meeting that the state government would extend all possible cooperation to revive the film exhibition business tweeted Sharad Pawar whose party shares power in the state with the Shiv Sena and Congress The chief minister had last month announced that cinema halls and drama theatres in the state can reopen from October 22 on the condition that they follow all the protocols required to prevent the spread of coronavirusThe Maharashtra government last week issued standard operating procedures SOPs for cinema halls auditoriums and drama theatres allowing them to operate at half of the total capacity Social distancing and other Covid19related norms must be followed said the guidelines Show times of cinema halls will have to be staggered and the sale of only packaged food and beverages will be allowed Food and beverages can not be taken inside the screening auditorium Cinema halls in containment zones will continue to remain closed the government had saidAlso Read Will find proper solution to problems being faced by transporters amid Covid19 Maha CM Uddhav ThackerayCinemagoers will be required to wear masks Sanitisers should be available inside the halls toilets and in other places Spectators must have been vaccinated against COVID19 or their health status on the Aarogya Setu app must show as safe according to the SOPs The airconditioning in cinema halls should be set at temperatures between 24 to 30 degrees Celsius and humidity levels between 40 to 70 per cent as per the SOPsMaharashtra on Sunday reported 1715 new coronavirus cases taking the states infection tally to 6591697 while 29 deaths pushed the toll to 139789 the health department said As on Sunday there were 28631 active cases in Maharashtra it saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever