Centre asks states not to restrict movement of people, goods and services
24 Aug 2020
1
The central government has asked all states to ensure there are no restrictions on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods as such restrictions create problems in supply of goods and services and impact supply chains, resulting in disruption in economic activity and employment.
In a communication to chief secretaries of all states and union territories, union home secretary Ajay Bhalla said there were reports that local level restrictions on movement were being imposed by various districts and states.
Drawing attention to the Unlock 3 guidelines, Bhalla said such restrictions are creating problems in inter-state movement of goods and services and are impacting supply chains, resulting in disruption in economic activity and employment. The unlock guidelines clearly state there shall be no restrictions on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods, he said in the letter.
The guidelines also said no separate permission, approval or e-permit will be required for movement of persons and goods for cross land border trade under treaties with neighbouring countries. Bhalla said such restrictions amount to violation of guidelines issued by ministry of home affairs under provisions of Disaster Management Act, 2005.
The letter asked states to impose no restrictions and to ensure that the unlock guidelines are followed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had first announced a nationwide lockdown with effect from 25 March to combat the coronavirus pandemic; the lockdown was subsequently extended till 31 May.
Since 1 June, a phased unlock process began with the opening up industrial activities and offices across the country.
India, which saw a spike in the number of coronavirus cases, also scaled up Covid-19 tests that have scaled a new peak of 10, 23,000 on a single day even as it recorded highest ever single day recoveries of 63,631 in the 24 hours ended 3:30 pm on Saturday..
With a steady increase in the number of Covid-19 patients recovering and being discharged from the hospitals and home isolation (in case of mild and moderate cases), the recovery rate has reached 74.69 per cent. This has also led to declining case fatality rate, which stands at a new low of 1.87 per cent.
India’s total recoveries now exceed the total active cases (6,97,330) by more than 15 lakh. The record high recoveries have ensured that the actual caseload of the country, viz, active cases, currently stands at 23.43 per cent of the total positive cases.
