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Thiruvananthapuram, July 6 (IANS) With the state government implementing a lockdown in the capital city, covering all 100 wards of the city corporation and three wards outside the capital under it, the roads wore a deserted look with very few vehicles plying.
All the government offices including the secretariat are closed. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his cabinet colleagues are working from home and a war room has started functioning from the Chief Minister's official residence.
Director General of Police Loknath Behra warned of stringent action against lockdown violators. "People must be confined to their homes, except for health emergencies, and police will have to resort to strong action if anyone is found violating the orders", Behra told reporters here.
Police have also ventured into supplying essential commodities to the public and have provided contact numbers for availing these services.
"Public must restrict this service to essential commodities and the service will start functioning from Monday evening", Deputy Commissioner of Police Divya Gopinath told reporters.
People will have to provide a self attested certificate for urgent travel including medical emergencies. Health professionals, media, grocery shops, chemists and pharmacists, water supply, electricity supply, sanitation related work, petrol pumps/LPG outlets will be allowed to function.
However people are not allowed to buy goods from grocery shops and instead police will provide the essential commodities on the basis of orders.
"There will be some suffering and people have to face it for preventing an explosive situation. While hotels will remain shut, online food delivery will be allowed. However food needs of those who are stranded will be resolved in the course of the day", Minister for Tourism and Dewaswoms Kadakampally Surendran told media persons after a review meeting.
The minister said that the government will allow relaxations to open fruit and grocery shops from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and added that the government is also contemplating opening Kudumbasree community kitchens.
Chief minister Vijayan had decided to implement the lockdown in the state capital for seven days from 6 a.m. on Monday at an urgent meeting with senior officials on Sunday.
The Indian Medical Association's state chapter had already communicated to the government that there is a possibility of a community spread of the virus. It may be recalled that several Covid positive cases did not have a history of travel or any contact with positive cases. Sunday alone accounted for 27 such cases leading the government to take a call on a lockdown.
--IANS
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