E-Paper
Goa CM calls on Maharashtra CM to withdraw order on ‘places of sensitive origin’
On Sunday, Maharashtra’s chief secretary issued an order declaring five states, including Goa, as places of sensitive origin under the Epidemic Diseases Act.
Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant has asked Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to withdraw his order directing screening of persons entering from five states that have been declared by the state as ‘places of sensitive origin’. The five states include Kerala, Goa, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Delhi-NCR.
In a tweet, Sawant called on his Maharashtra counterpart to “put up a combined fight against this pandemic under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi.”
“I urge @CMOMaharashtra not to single out states as ‘Places of Sensitive Origin’, and withdraw the said order in public interest,” Sawant tweeted.
On Sunday evening, Maharashtra’s chief secretary issued an order declaring the states as places of sensitive origin under the Epidemic Diseases Act, “in order to curb the transmission of the Covid-19 virus in the state and to stop the influx of other Covid-19 virus variants into the state of Maharashtra from other locations.”
Sawant’s request has however been met with ‘suggestions’ that he should also impose similar restrictions on people entering the state.
“Sir, CM of Maharashtra is only doing his job of protecting his people. Instead of only indulging in politics, we Goans request you to do your job and put in restrictions at our borders to protect us also,” AAP leader Valmiki Naik said.
Sawant has faced persistent requests to begin screening people entering the state, especially with the recent surge in cases in other parts of the country. But Sawant has resisted doing so, claiming it will affect tourism in the state and the government is dependent on tourism for economic survival.
