Lockdown in Telangana now Extended till 29th May

Telangana has become the first state in the country to extend the lockdown till 29 May.

The Chief Minister of Telangana Sh. K. Chandrasekhar Rao announced his decision to extend the lockdown. Further, Rao stated that the Public should buy all of the essential items by 6 pm and they must reach their residences. After 7 pm, there will be a curfew in the state and it needs to be strictly followed by the people. If anyone founding roaming on the roads, then the police will take immediate action on the person for sure.

Only essential shops will be allowed to open in the red zones. The districts marked as the red zone in the state are Rangareddy, Hyderabad, Warangal urban, Medchal-Malkajgiri, Suryapet, and Vikarabad. The state will review the present situation in all the red zone districts on 15^th May. “All essential and non-essential shops will be allowed to open in villages and mandals by following vital safety measures. Shops will open between 10 am to 6 pm.” Rao said.

1. Why has lockdown been extended in Telangana?

The Government of Telangana has taken this step by considering the increasing cases of COVID 19 in the state. Rao also stated that “Trains that ferrying migrant labourers from the state will be returned from Bihar with some workers willing to work again in the rice-mills. It has been estimated that more than 20,000 workers will be coming back to Telangana for work”.

“There are more than 7 lakh migrant workers currently in Telangana. We are fully prepared to help them in returning to their hometowns and also talked to the Chief Minister of Bihar regarding this. We have allowed 11 special trains ferrying workers to their respective states”, the Chief Minister said.

2. What has government done for the migrant workers?

On Monday, the government has allowed 40 special trains to ferry the migrant workers of the state to their hometowns. The trains will be running daily for one week continuously for the workers of West Bengal, Bihar, and various other states.

3. How will Telangana govt help the migrant workers?

The Chief Minister has also appealed to the migrant workers to stay in the state and not leave on foot.  He also assured them of providing all the vital facilities to them. He said that the government is trying its best to make the necessary arrangements so that the migrant workers will never face any issues at all. He also said that the construction work will be starting very soon and migrant workers should stay here and earn money in these bad times.

4. Which activities will be allowed in Telangana during the lockdown?

The ban will be continuing on all the religious meetings and gatherings. During this time-

• The private offices can work with 33% of staff but they should strictly follow the safety measures without any excuse. The state has witnessed 1,096 COVID-19 positive cases and 628 patients were discharged. Currently, 439 cases are active in the Telangana.
• The further decision on liquor shops will be taken after only 15^th May by considering the COVID-19 cases in the state.

The other states are also planning to do the same and they are going to extend lockdown till May 29 very soon.

Also, know about the activities allowed during Lockdown 3.0