More curbs to go, but close to stay, PM insinuates that the CM are | India News

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi the steps indicated to open the economy would continue to be followed in line with relaxations announced so far, even though efforts to reduce the incidence of Covid-19 continue apace and social distancing rules are followed.
Modi hinted that a more gradual relaxation of the blockade may be on the way after May 17, during an interaction with chief ministers on Monday. “I firmly believe that the necessary measures in the first phase of the blockade were not necessary during the second phase and, similarly, the necessary measures in the third phase are not necessary in the fourth,” an official statement quoted the prime minister as saying .
“We have a double challenge: reducing the rate of disease transmission and gradually increasing public activity, while complying with all the guidelines,” he said.

The long interaction, where all the CMs spoke, saw some in favor of continuing the blockade beyond May 17. Given the focus on containment, the lock cannot be canceled even as the curbs are further relieved, particularly in the ‘green zones’, it is on the anvil.
While Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee complained about the “unilateral” actions of the Center, she likes other CMs like Uddhav Thackeray and Nitish Kumar favored the extension of the blockade. Kumar expressed reservations about the resumption of train services.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan such states should be able to decide on public transport, while Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik suggested that there should be general blocking principles. Thackeray expressed concern about reports of a second wave of infection in China.
Focus now should be stop COVID-19 from spreading to rural areas: PM
Sources said the Prime Minister was well aware of the need to continue all efforts to contain the disease so that the gains from the blockade were not lost, and also indirectly referred to the need to focus on problem areas.
“We now have a reasonably clear indication as to the geographical spread of the pandemic in India, including the most affected areas. Also, in recent weeks, officials have understood operational procedures at a time like this, down to the district level, ”Modi said, suggesting that the disease monitoring mechanism was gaining experience and becoming more effective.
The prime minister further said that the effort should now be to stop the spread of Covid-19 to rural areas. The comment came in the context of rural areas that remained relatively infection-free.
He said that one must understand that the world had fundamentally changed after Covid-19. “Now the world will be before the crown, after the crown, as in the case of world wars,” he added. Prime Minister Modi said the new way of life would be based on the principle of “jaan se lekar jag tak”, from one individual to all of humanity.