Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said his government received over five lakh suggestions from people over the last two days on easing lockdown restrictions after May 17 in the national Capital. The chief minister added that he will meet Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal at 4 pm to discuss the post-lockdown plan.
Addressing an online media briefing, Kejriwal said that the majority of respondents suggested that schools, colleges, spa, swimming pools and malls should remain shut during summer vacations. Many also suggested that hotels should not be opened but restaurants for home delivery and takeaway alone should be permitted, Kejriwal said.
“It has been more than a month and a half since the lockdown was imposed...Everything was shut but it will take a lot to open everything up again,” Kejriwal said.
He added that businesses like salons, spas and cinema halls are risky as people could come in physical contact despite the guidelines, indicating that they may remain shut.
The chief minister said people questioned the rationale behind curbing movement after 7 pm and sought restarting public transport to a limited extent.
“People have also asked for public transport to be allowed to open partially; autos, buses and the metro should be made available to a limited extent,” he said. “They said many offices are allowed to work now, but not everyone has a vehicle and they need public transport. How are they going to reach their office? Some said the metro must run in a very limited way. What defines this limit, we will look into that.”
The chief minister also said he received many suggestions from market associations. “They have suggested the odd-even system for opening shops,” Kejriwal said. “Some even said one-third of shops in malls could be allowed to be open.”
He added that most people suggested strict action against those not wearing mask and violating physical-distancing norms.
“I will be meeting the lieutenant governor at a meeting of the state Disaster Management Authority
at 4 pm,” the Aam Aadmi chief said. “We will discuss these proposals and the way forward there before sending Delhi’s response to the Centre. Some activities will be allowed in Delhi from Monday based on the Centre’s decisions on easing the lockdown. We have to work hard to open up the economy.”
Meanwhile, 472 new coronavirus cases were reported in Delhi in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 8,470, according to a health bulletin released by the Delhi government on Thursday.
Follow today’s updates on the pandemic here.
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