MHA order on opening shops brings no respite to Chandigarh

The latest order of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on opening of non-essential shops and commercial establishments in the neighbourhood will not bring any respite to Chandigarh, a city declared as a coronavirus disease (Covid-19) containment zone.

UT adviser Manoj Parida said the order does not allow such establishments to open in a containment zone, and hence, the exemptions available in other states could not be given to local residents here.

The UT administration had declared the entire city a containment zone on April 19 on the ground that Covid positive cases and their contacts were scattered across the city, leaving no scope for area-wise containment.

Parida said factories, plants or any e-commerce delivery of non-essential items along with sale and supply of liquor will continue to be banned till further orders.

“The central government will review the situation on May 3 , the last day of the second phase of lockdown. The appropriate decisions regarding relaxations will be taken then,” he said.

UT administrator VP Singh Badnore will also attend a video conference chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, which, according to the sources, will bring further clarity on phasing out of the lockdown.

AMEND CITY’S CONTAINMENT ZONE TAG: TRADERS

On the other hand, unhappy over MHA order, traders have sought that the city’s containment zone tag be amended.

“The administration’s decision to declare the entire city a containment zone was wrong,” said chairman of Chandigarh Beopar Mandal, Charanjiv Singh. “The authorities should declare only a particular area, sector or village where multiple cases have come up as containment zone as they have done in the case of Sector 30,” he said.

“The administration should talk to the ministry to bring the city out of the red zone as it is performing well in curing and controlling the disease. On Friday, UT had shared that their Covid recovery rate is third best in the country,” said Singh.

“The city traders are suffering huge losses and it is important that some kind of commercial activity is revived,” said Singh, who is also a nominated councillor.

The city had seven cases when the nationwide lockdown began on March 23. While the number of cases rose to 30 to date, that of active cases is 15.

Pankaj Khanna, president of Industries Association of Chandigarh, said, “The administration is doing a great job of controlling the disease. However, we want financial support from the Centre which is getting delayed inordinately. Whatever major intervention is required has to be from the Centre only.”

Meanwhile, in the daily review meeting held on Saturday, deputy commissioner (DC) Mandip Singh Brar said the daily supply of cooked food packets touched 1.57lakh. “To date, around 21.5 lakh food packets have been distributed among the needy,” Brar said.

A new control and command centre has been opened at the municipal corporation (MC) office to supervise distribution of vegetable, fruits, milk, bread and sanitation work. “As many as 33,115 online home deliveries have been made to residents during the curfew period,” MC commissioner KK Yadav said.

NO RELAXATION IN CURFEW: MOHALI DC

Meanwhile, in the neighbouring Mohali district in Punjab, deputy commissioner Girish Dayalan said there will be no relaxation in curfew as the stage of no new case for 14 days has not been reached.

“The revised MHA guidelines do not apply to Mohali district as it has a large containment zone,” he said, adding that relaxation will only result in movement of people that was problematic in the fight against Covid-19.

ONLY REGISTERED SHOPS CAN OPEN IN P’KULA

In Haryana’s Panchkula, which too shares border with Chandigarh, deputy commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja has said only those neighbourhood shops registered under the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act will be allowed to remain open in the district.

“Shopkeepers who ensure compliance with the guidelines issued by MHA can apply for permission to open shops at www.saralharyana.in. If eligible, they will be granted permission within 24 hours,” said the DC.

These outlets must ensure social distancing is maintained, only 50% staff is employed, and shop workers wear masks and gloves. E-commerce companies are allowed to sell only essential items, and shops located in areas declared as containment zones are not allowed to open, he said. Book shops and outlets selling fans and coolers are being given permission to operate.