No lockdown plans, curfew only to break virus chain: Chautala

The Haryana government has no plans to impose a lockdown in the state and the night curfew, which was implemented on Monday evening, is an attempt to break the chain of rising Covid-19 infections, deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala said on Wednesday

The Haryana government has no plans to impose a lockdown in the state and the night curfew, which was implemented on Monday evening, is an attempt to break the chain of rising Covid-19 infections, deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala said on Wednesday.

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Interacting with media persons after flagging off a cardiac ambulance at Artemis Hospital in the city, Chautala asked the industry, trade and business in the state not to panic as there was no plan to impose a lockdown. “I want to assure every person who works in Haryana that measures have been taken to curb Covid infection and night curfew was a step in this direction. There is no plan for a lockdown,” he said.

Referring to a recent meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with chief ministers, Chautala said that directions were clear that the focus was on curbing infection and not a lockdown. “Under the night curfew, there are no restraints on economic activities but only the movement of people has been curbed to break the chain of Covid-19,” he said.

Last week, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar also said that there would not be a lockdown in Haryana. He also discounted the possibility of a night curfew. However, the government announced one three days later, with restrictions on non-essential movement between 10pm and 5am.

When asked about the reverse migration of workers due to fear of the lockdown, the deputy CM said that there were no reports that workers were going home. He said that during last year’s lockdown, Haryana was the only state where the industry was able to operate even with severe restrictions. Chautala said that permission for workers in industries will be granted, in case it is required.

He also said that because of rising Covid-19 infections among farmers, he will suggest the Prime Minister involves senior leaders in discussions and resolve the issues raised by farmers.