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Lockdown: Gzb says no to reopening of shops selling non-essential goods
Ghaziabad:
Ghaziabad:
In the wake of the Centre’s latest guidelines that shops selling non-essential goods can reopen, the Ghaziabad administration said on Saturday that it has not allowed any such shops to resume their operations in the district. Officials said that they will maintain “status quo” in the lockdown enforcement.
“The existing lockdown will continue and there will be status quo. Besides, no additional shops will be allowed to open up. We have not received any directions from the state government so far. The enforcement of the lockdown will continue till further orders,” said Ajay Shankar Pandey, district magistrate.
Giving relaxation in the category of commercial and private establishments, the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) on late Friday night issued directions to all states and Union Territories (UTs) to allow opening of shops registered under the Shops and Establishment Act of respective states/UTs, including shops in residential complexes and neighbourhoods.
The MHA’s directions also said that shops in single and multi-brand malls would not be allowed to open anywhere, an it would be mandatory for all permitted shops to open only with 50% strength of workers while ensuring compulsory wearing of masks and strict adherence to social distancing norms. The directions categorically mentioned that relaxations in lockdown would not be applicable in hot spot or containment zones.
Pandey said, “The police are also keeping a tight watch and enforcing closure of vegetable, fruit and grocery shops as per the directions given on Friday.”
In his directions on Friday, the district magistrate had directed for closure of vegetable and fruit shops by 2pm while the grocery shops were asked to down shutter by 4pm. However, medical shops were allowed to remain open.
“There is no fresh order on lockdown relaxations. We have status quo,” UP’s chief secretary RK Tiwari said on Saturday evening.
With 53 Covid-19 positive cases and 17 hot spot areas across Ghaziabad, official sources said that any relaxations in lockdown will not be coming soon in the district.
In a similar decision on April 19 after video-conferencing with UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, the district magistrate had decided not to go ahead with the opening of any commercial and industrial activities from April 20.
Meanwhile, the MHA on Saturday morning issued a clarification and said that the Friday’s directions imply that in rural areas, all shops, except those in shopping malls, are allowed to open while in urban areas, all stand alone shops, neighbourhood shops and shops in residential complexes are allowed to open.
Across the state of Uttar Pradesh, the officials said that tally of Covid-19 positive cases stood at 1,778 till Saturday evening, and the figure included 248 patients discharged from the hospitals and 26 deaths.
