PM Modi To Address Nation At 10 AM: Lockdown Extension, Graded Curbs On Cards

NEW DELHI: After much anticipation since the day he held a meeting with the chief ministers of state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will finally be addressing the nation at 10 am today i.e., which is the last day of 21-day lockdown.

The Prime Minister Office tweeted to announce that PM Modi will address the nation at 10 am on Tuesday.

Centre is likely to extend the ongoing 21-day nationwide lockdown by two more weeks i.e., till April 30.

As the COVID-19 numbers are increasing everyday, several states like Maharashtra, Punjab, Telangana, Odisha and others have already extended the lockdown despite all the hardships. The states sought an extension of the lockdown till April 30 in a meeting on Saturday with PM Modi.

However, major metro cities and state capitals such as Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Gurgaon, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Bengaluru, which have seen a high number of cases, are unlikely to see any major relaxations.

There are many possible scenarios that may be announced by PM Modi in his address. Like many states have already announced, the central government may decide to extend the lockdown with all the current restrictions in place including the economic activity. Phased exit from the lockdown is all expected like food production, agriculture and harvest may be allowed to resume. Cargo movement of all kinds of goods will be allowed across the country

According to reports, there has also been talk about dividing regions into red, orange and green zones, depending upon the number of cases. This may determine the extent of the relaxation, like red zone regions with the maximum number of cases will be under complete lockdown and the green zones may be allowed function as normal.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minsiter YS Jagan has written a letter to PM Modi on Monday regarding the relaxation of lockdown and easing of restrictions in close to 600 mandals which are with no virus and safe.

Meanwhile, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had already announced the extension of lockdown till April 30.

Also Read: PM To Address Nation At 10 AM Tomorrow As 21-Day Lockdown Ends