Delhi L-G Anil Baijal on Friday overruled the Aam Aadmi party government’s decision to open hotels and allow for weekly bazars on a trial basis under Unlock 3, saying the situation remains ‘fragile’.
Unlock 3 is the third phase of the gradual lifting of curbs announced to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease.
“The matter was discussed with chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and it was agreed that while there has been improvement, pandemic situation in the capital continues to be fragile and the threat is still far from over. Therefore a cautious and conservative approach is required,” said a source from the Lt Guv’s office.
The person said that while the proposal to allow street hawkers to operate for longer hours from August 1 was approved, the proposal for opening of hotels and hospitality services and opening of weekly bazars were deferred for the time being. He added that it would be reviewed later.
On Thursday, the Delhi government decided to allow hotels, hospitality services, street hawkers to operate and do away with the night curfew hours applicable between 10pm and 5am under the Centre’s Unlock 3 plan.
{{/usCountry}}On Thursday, the Delhi government decided to allow hotels, hospitality services, street hawkers to operate and do away with the night curfew hours applicable between 10pm and 5am under the Centre’s Unlock 3 plan.
{{/usCountry}}The government intended to allow weekly bazars to operate for a week on a trial basis to check if social distancing norms are adhered to. An official order regarding the same was to come by Saturday.
“These decisions are in continuation of several important decisions taken by CM Arvind Kejriwal in the past few days to ensure Delhi’s economy, which was impacted severely by the lockdown, gets back on track,” said a statement issued by the office of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday.
Regarding hotels, the statement said, “Since hotels of Delhi are no longer linked to hospitals, Delhi government has also decided to allow normal functioning of hotels and hospitality services, as already permitted under Centre’s unlock guidelines.”
The Delhi government had on Wednesday de-linked around 40 hotels and 77 banquet halls that were attached to different hospitals to boost the city’s Covid-19 bed capacity.
However, even though the Centre has allowed gymnasiums and yoga centres to operate, the government is yet to take a call on it.
The Union home ministry issued the plan, Unlock 3, on Wednesday after receiving feedback from states and in consultation with central ministries and departments to open up more activities outside containment zones.