In a bid to break the chain of the spiralling covid 19 cases in the state, the Maharashtra government has ordered stricter curbs from 8:00 PM on Thursday, April 22, 2021, to 7:00 AM on Saturday, May 1, 2021
In the notification issued by the State government, on Wednesday, April 21, it did not mention the word lockdown but imposed the restriction in three specific areas that are the office attendants, wedding ceremonies and public/ private transport.
The details of the fresh restrictions are as follows:
Officer attendance
- All government offices shall operate with only 15% attendance excluding the offices engaged in emergency services directly connected to the COVID-19 pandemic management.
- In Mantralaya and Central Government Offices in Mumbai Metropolitan region the Head of the Department can allow higher attendance with permission from the CEO of the Maharashtra State Disaster Management Authority.
- All offices related to essential services shall work with minimum staff and should not exceed 50% of the total strength. Attendance of the personnel delivering the essential services on the ground should be minimized but can be extended up to 100% if required.
Wedding ceremonies
- The guest limit should not exceed 25. The ceremony should not extend beyond two hours. In case of a violation a fine of rupees 50,000 is to be charged.
Public private transport
- Travel for essential service, medical emergencies and vaccination is allowed. And only 50% occupancy of the seating capacity in a passenger vehicle is permissible.
- Inter district or intercity travel is allowed only for essential service or in case of medical emergencies for attending unavoidable events like funerals. A fine of rupees 10,000 is levied on violation.
- The bus service operator must restrict the stop edges to a maximum of two inner city and the same should be informed to local DMA
- At the stoppages where passengers are getting down they shall be stamped on the hand for 14 day home quarantine. Thermal scanners must be used in the buses and anyone with symptoms should be moved to Corona care centers or to a hospital.
Local trains
Only selected categories of people will be allowed to use local trains and metros services. According to the order, all government personnel will be provided with passes on the basis of a government-issued identity card only.
Local railway officers MSRTC officers shall provide all the information that local DMA may require for screening the people travelling by these trains and alighting in their jurisdictions.
