People have lost trust in Maharashtra govt: BJP leader as Covid-19 cases spike

“The second wave of Covid-19 in Maharashtra has created havoc. Saving lives and giving relief to the public should be the topmost priority of the government,” BJP leader Amar Sable said in a video posted on Twitter.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amar Sable on Monday hit out at the Maharashtra government over the rising cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the state and alleged it has failed to control the second wave of infections. “The second wave of Covid-19 in Maharashtra has created havoc. Saving lives and giving relief to the public should be the topmost priority of the government,” Sable said in a video posted on Twitter.

The Union health ministry said on Monday that Maharashtra along with seven other states including Punjab and Karnataka, contributed 84.5 per cent of the new cases which were recorded across India in the last 24 hours. (HT file photo)

Sable pointed out that people in Maharashtra have been left at the mercy of the gods due to a decline in the state’s healthcare and law and order infrastructure. “Whether it is health facilities or law and order situation, people of the state have lost trust in the Maharashtra government,” the former Rajya Sabha member was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Maharashtra on Sunday registered 40,414 Covid-19 disease cases and 108 more fatalities, taking the caseload and death toll to 2,713,875 and 54,181 respectively, according to the state health department’s bulletin. Sunday’s case count in Maharashtra has been the highest since the beginning of the pandemic last year.

More than 17,800 people were discharged on Sunday and the recoveries have now climbed to 2,332,453 while the active cases are nearing 396,000. The Union health ministry said on Monday that Maharashtra along with seven other states including Punjab and Karnataka, contributed 84.5 per cent of the new cases which were recorded across India in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra has also been adding the most towards the total active cases in the country, the ministry added.

As cases have been spiking in Maharashtra for nearly two months, the state government had already ordered a night curfew which started on Sunday and will be imposed till April 15 from 8pm-7am.

To further control the spread of the disease, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday instructed officials to come up with a plan for implementing a lockdown, which will have minimum impact on the state’s economy, a statement said. The decision was taken after Thackeray had held a meeting with Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope, other officials and members of the state’s Covid-19 task force. “There should not be any kind of confusion among the people once a lockdown is announced,” the chief minister said, according to the statement.