CM KCR Extends Lockdown In Telangana Till May 7th  

HYDERABAD: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Sunday announced the extension of lockdown in the state till May 7. He categorically ruled out any relaxations in lockdown from April 20th, as was expected in some quarters. All the existing guidelines issued by the Telangana government during the first phase of lockdown with regard to the supply and sale of essential commodities and others will continue as usual, KCR said.

Keeping in view the continuous rise in COVID-19 positive cases in the State, the Telangana State Cabinet has decided to extend the lockdown till May 7th as against May 3rd, the date till which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently announced the extension of the nationwide lockdown.

As part of the decisions taken during the Cabinet Meeting held at Pragathi Bhawan on Sunday, it has been decided to stop the services of all food delivery aggregators indefinitely. Apart from this, the State will also halt the e-commerce deliveries and other door-to-door delivery of parcels as well.

Justifying his cabinet’s decision to extend the lockdown and also rule out any relaxations, the Telangana chief minister said that the decision was taken in tune with the prevailing popular mood across the state. He said that almost all the surveys, including those done by several media houses, had shown that more than 90 percent of people in the state is favoring the strict enforcement of lockdown despite the hardships that come with it. KCR said that he himself had personally spoken to people of all walks of life to elicit their opinion and that everyone put the prevention of the Coronavirus pandemic above everything else.

The Telangana chief minister once again made a fervent appeal to the people of the state to adhere to the lockdown preventive measures while taking care at the personal level by following self-isolation and avoiding mass gatherings.

The Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao also requested house owners to consider deferring collection of rents from tenants for a period of three months ( March, April, May) with effect from March, on rented premises. Speaking about this, KCR issued a stern warning to all the landlords or house owners that anyone crossing this line and looking to fleece people for rentals would be dealt with severely. He said, “the society needs to show sympathy, during this extraordinarily unusual times, towards the general public who have been rendered jobless.”

Among the several decisions, KCR also unequivocally stated that all the educational institutions have been forbidden from enhancing the fees for the educational year 2020-21. The educational institutions cannot collect anything over and above the tuition fee. Even this, should be collected on a monthly basis and not in the form of one-time annual fees. He warned that anyone violating this ‘order of the state government’ would be ruthlessly punished.

The number of coronavirus positive cases rising to 809, prompted the State Government to take a call on the lockdown extension. The Telangana Cabinet also took into consideration the case of a food delivery boy who tested positive for COVID-19 in Hyderabad on Saturday. The Cabinet meeting commenced at 2.30 pm in Pragathi Bhavan on Sunday was chaired by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and continued for more than four hours.

Also Read: Hyderabad Food Delivery Boy Tests Positive For COVID-19