Brushing aside speculations about a lot of relaxations after April 20, the Assam government made it clear on Monday that strict lockdown measures will be in place till May 3.
“Our fight against Covid-19 continues. The idea among the public that there would be a lot of relaxations isn’t true. Strict measures for the lockdown will continue till May 3,” said Assam chief secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna.
He added that relaxations announced by the Centre will, however, be allowed in the state with strict monitoring. Government offices in Assam will start functioning from April 21.
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While senior officials will have to come to office regularly, only 30% of Grade III and Grade IV employees will be allowed to come to office at one time based on a duty roster prepared by respective offices. Social distancing and other safety precautions will have to be in place.
All activities related to agriculture, food processing, drugs, medical units, manufacturers of fertilizers etc, will be allowed to operate provided they keep their workforce in one place and ensure their transportation. E-commerce activities will also be permitted.
{{/usCountry}}All activities related to agriculture, food processing, drugs, medical units, manufacturers of fertilizers etc, will be allowed to operate provided they keep their workforce in one place and ensure their transportation. E-commerce activities will also be permitted.
{{/usCountry}}Assam’s director general of police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said that strict action would be taken against those flouting lockdown guidelines.
“From today police would try to play more of a facilitating role. But our enforcement duty related to lockdown will continue. We will facilitate all those who fall under exempted categories, but if anyone flouts the rules we will be very strict,” he said.
Since the lockdown began, 735 offensive and fake posts on social media have been removed, 45 people arrested for posting such things, over 200 counselled and 85 cases registered against misuse of social media. Over 25,000 vehicles have been seized by the police till date.
“I would like to reiterate that there would be no relaxation of lockdown norms. All rules will have to be followed and anyone flouting including things like not wearing masks in public and spitting or urinating in public will be dealt with strictly,” said Mahanta.