Sparkler: No need to lift block before Eid, Imams’ body says

The organization’s president, Mohammad Yahya, discouraged the festivities amid the pandemic, writing that people had already sacrificed a lot and were ready to do so once again. (Figurative)

With the number of Covid-19 cases in the state increasing every day, an association of imams on Sunday wrote a letter to the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, urging her to extend the shutdown until May 30.

The Bengal Magnet Association said the festivities can wait as people first need to survive. The imams said the blockade should not be lifted before Eid, which will be observed on May 25.

The organization’s president, Mohammad Yahya, discouraged the festivities amid the pandemic, writing that people had already sacrificed a lot and were ready to do so once again.

The association urged the CM to raise the issue with the Center and extended its support to the state government.

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari told reporters that until May 9, state transport companies: the West Bengal Transport Corporation, the South Bengal State Transport Corporation and the Transport of the State of North Bengal, they had provided more than 2,300 buses to transport more than 72,000 people.

He said more than 100 vehicles were provided daily to front-line departments such as the Kolkata KMC Municipal Corporation and the Health Department to help them maintain their operations. The minister said more than 260 private vehicles had been hired to allow the movement of approximately 7,500 people.

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