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MUMBAI: Hopes for some brake relief for Mumbaikars during the two-week-long national blockade faded on Saturday after the state government issued revised guidelines that will apply after May 3, giving little room for the ongoing Covid-19 crisis for city residents, as well as for those of other municipal MMR corporations and the corporations of Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Malegaon.
With the blockade extended until May 17, there are 14 districts in Maharashtra that are red zones, including Greater Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, and Nashik. Sixteen districts are orange zones, and six are in the safe green zone. Of the 14 red zone districts, five are in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune and Malegaon, where restrictions have tightened for the next two weeks. Nine other districts have been allowed some restricted activities.
An order issued by the state’s chief secretary, Ajoy Mehta, said Saturday that private offices will not be able to operate with 33% force in these areas. When asked specifically about Mumbai, given its status as the country’s financial capital, a senior government official told TOI: “It will not be allowed to open offices in Mumbai because it is a red zone.”
However, the official said that after a few days, the state could review this decision and consider opening offices, say with 10% attendance, if staff can travel in private vehicles.
Rules set by the Center on Friday set the framework for states while allowing them to increase restrictions, though no restrictions could be watered down.
Liquor stores cannot open in the red zones of Maharashtra either. A senior bureaucrat told TOI that liquor stores on the municipal boundaries of MMR, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Malegaon will remain closed. While there are a total of 4,200 liquor stores in the state, including the country’s stores and IMFLs, 1,400 of them are located in MMR, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Malegaon. Elsewhere in the state, district collectors and superintendents of the special tax department have the power to make a decision based on local conditions.
The bureaucrat said the comprehensive guidelines for liquor stores will be issued on Sunday or Monday. “We are still studying the situation. We will ensure that even if stores are opened in permitted areas, social distancing is maintained, ”he said.
According to state guidelines, people and vehicles can only move for permitted activities. Four-wheeled vehicles will have a maximum of two passengers in addition to the vehicle driver, while one passenger will not be allowed in two-wheeled vehicles.
While the Center had allowed domestic help, the new directive issued by the state on Saturday did not mention it. The movement restriction would apply to domestic help unless the employer or employee can obtain permission for movement from the collector or the police. In Mumbai, the question of whether to allow maids to enter apartments has become a serious topic of discussion in many housing societies, especially after the Center relaxed the rule on Friday.
State government sources said the maids are not considered part of the essential services. “Even if they travel from a non-containment zone to a housing society in a non-containment area in Mumbai, it will not be allowed,” the sources said.
All standalone stores, neighborhood stores and stores in residential complexes, both essential and non-essential, are allowed to remain open in urban areas, but not in MMR, Malegaon, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporate areas.
“In case there are more than five stores on the road or highway, only stores that sell essential products will remain open,” the state notification said.
To the relief of many builders, the state has allowed construction to begin on sites only where workers are already available. No worker can be brought in from outside. At MMR alone, there are 1,200 construction sites with 70,000 workers, according to the builders association, MCHI-CREDAI. All pre-monsoon work has also been permitted.
E-commerce activity will only be allowed with respect to essential goods, medicines and medical equipment. All industrial work is permitted in rural red zone areas (MMR has rural areas in parts of Vasai-Virar, Palghar, Bhiwandi and Raigad).
All government offices will operate with 100% attendance, but again not in the urban areas of MMR, Pune, Malegaon and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations.
Following the Center’s directives, the state has issued new guidelines that say the movement of people, for all non-essential activities, will remain strictly prohibited between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.
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With the blockade extended until May 17, there are 14 districts in Maharashtra that are red zones, including Greater Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, and Nashik. Sixteen districts are orange zones, and six are in the safe green zone. Of the 14 red zone districts, five are in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune and Malegaon, where restrictions have tightened for the next two weeks. Nine other districts have been allowed some restricted activities.
An order issued by the state’s chief secretary, Ajoy Mehta, said Saturday that private offices will not be able to operate with 33% force in these areas. When asked specifically about Mumbai, given its status as the country’s financial capital, a senior government official told TOI: “It will not be allowed to open offices in Mumbai because it is a red zone.”
However, the official said that after a few days, the state could review this decision and consider opening offices, say with 10% attendance, if staff can travel in private vehicles.
Rules set by the Center on Friday set the framework for states while allowing them to increase restrictions, though no restrictions could be watered down.
Liquor stores cannot open in the red zones of Maharashtra either. A senior bureaucrat told TOI that liquor stores on the municipal boundaries of MMR, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Malegaon will remain closed. While there are a total of 4,200 liquor stores in the state, including the country’s stores and IMFLs, 1,400 of them are located in MMR, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Malegaon. Elsewhere in the state, district collectors and superintendents of the special tax department have the power to make a decision based on local conditions.
The bureaucrat said the comprehensive guidelines for liquor stores will be issued on Sunday or Monday. “We are still studying the situation. We will ensure that even if stores are opened in permitted areas, social distancing is maintained, ”he said.
According to state guidelines, people and vehicles can only move for permitted activities. Four-wheeled vehicles will have a maximum of two passengers in addition to the vehicle driver, while one passenger will not be allowed in two-wheeled vehicles.
While the Center had allowed domestic help, the new directive issued by the state on Saturday did not mention it. The movement restriction would apply to domestic help unless the employer or employee can obtain permission for movement from the collector or the police. In Mumbai, the question of whether to allow maids to enter apartments has become a serious topic of discussion in many housing societies, especially after the Center relaxed the rule on Friday.
State government sources said the maids are not considered part of the essential services. “Even if they travel from a non-containment zone to a housing society in a non-containment area in Mumbai, it will not be allowed,” the sources said.
All standalone stores, neighborhood stores and stores in residential complexes, both essential and non-essential, are allowed to remain open in urban areas, but not in MMR, Malegaon, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporate areas.
“In case there are more than five stores on the road or highway, only stores that sell essential products will remain open,” the state notification said.
To the relief of many builders, the state has allowed construction to begin on sites only where workers are already available. No worker can be brought in from outside. At MMR alone, there are 1,200 construction sites with 70,000 workers, according to the builders association, MCHI-CREDAI. All pre-monsoon work has also been permitted.
E-commerce activity will only be allowed with respect to essential goods, medicines and medical equipment. All industrial work is permitted in rural red zone areas (MMR has rural areas in parts of Vasai-Virar, Palghar, Bhiwandi and Raigad).
All government offices will operate with 100% attendance, but again not in the urban areas of MMR, Pune, Malegaon and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations.
Following the Center’s directives, the state has issued new guidelines that say the movement of people, for all non-essential activities, will remain strictly prohibited between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.
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