Coronavirus update: Tripura CM seeks ideas from people to recover loss after Covid-19 lockdown

Tripura’s chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb has tapped the people of his state for suggestions to help his government tackle the economic after effects of the 21-day national lockdown, which is in place to beat the spread of coronavirus disease.

Tripura’s chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb has tapped the people of his state for suggestions to help his government tackle the economic after effects of the 21-day national lockdown, which is in place to beat the spread of coronavirus disease.

Tripura’s chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb (Sushil Kumar/HT PHOTO)

“I am asking everyone to start thinking about the first 100 steps the government must take after the lockdown is lifted. We can’t think about what should be done after the lockdown is removed,” Deb said in a video message on Twitter.

The lockdown will end on April 14.

As he made the request, the chief minister gave an analogy of about parents think before choosing a school for their children. People take into account the number of teachers and facilities the school and also think about whether they can afford the fee before zeroing in, he said.

“That’s why you have to suggest what should the first 100 steps that the state government must take… because we have faced losses and pushed back due to the lockdown,” he said.

These ideas, he said, can be sent to the CM dashboard, email ID of the chief minister’s office and on WhatsApp numbers of government officials

“We may receive hundred and thousands and lakhs of ideas but we will choose only the 100 best ideas,” Deb said.

Deb also said the 26 people, who have returned from the Tablighi Jamaat’s event at Delhi’s Nizamuddin Markaz, have been sent to quarantine and no one has been found to be Covid-19 positive.

“Though their reports came negative, we will conduct a re-test to confirm,” said Deb.

The state government has quarantined 72 people, including the family members of Tablighi Jamaat.

Deb has also ordered the sealing of the state’s borders with Assam to prevent the inter-state entry of anyone or transport barring those carrying essential goods. These vehicles would be screened properly before their entry into the state, he said.

He also requested all religious leaders or gurus to share awareness about staying indoors in a video clip through social media for their followers. He hoped that if they do the same, many would respond to their appeal.

After meeting health officials, including medical superintendent of government-run GBP Hospital, on Thursday, the chief minister said the number of patients in the hospital has come down from 1500 to 500 every day on an average amidst the lockdown.

“As I asked the reason, the doctors said that people are learning to cope up with minor health-related problems from their own places,” he said.

Deb added that his government has already started preparations to ensure the availability of medicines for blood pressure, dialysis, cancer, tuberculosis etc, both in shops and hospitals for the next one to two months.

Officials said 165 people have been arrested and a fine of Rs 350,000 has been imposed on others for violating restrictions put in place by the state government from March 24 to March 31.

The northeastern state has not reported any Covid-19 case till date.