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The final call now rests with the PM, who may consider the extension reportedly with some relaxations. He is likely to make an announcement soon.
Most states favoured an extension as they feared that the end of the lockdown could result in a spurt in the number of cases. While chief ministers of Kerala, West Bengal, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Delhi, and lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir reportedly made a case for the extension of lockdown, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy suggested a partial lockdown.
It is believed that certain activities like farming could be allowed with certain guidelines. However, there is no clarity on that as of now.
The Prime Minister was chairing a meeting with chief ministers of all states. Here is what the state are believed to have advocated in the meeting:
Maharashtra: The state has seen the worst outbreak with over 1500 cases with Mumbai alone recording over 1000 cases. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray is believed to have asked for an extension even as the state fights the outbreak. The presence of multiple clusters makes the situation worse with Dharavi becoming a major concern as it records its fourth death.
Karnataka: PM has said lockdown extension is inevitable, guidelines will be issued about its implementation for next 15 days in a couple of days, PTI quoted Karnataka CM B S Yediyurappa as saying. However, the next two weeks lockdown will be different from the last three weeks, he added. Karnataka has seen 207 cases so far.
Odisha: Odisha became the first state to extend the lockdown till April 30. The chief minister said that it is a critical juncture where either we can protect the lives of the people or protect the economic activity. Odisha has seen 48 cases since the first case was reported on March 15.
Punjab: Punjab became the second state to extend the lockdown/curfew in the entire satte till May 1. The decision was taken to prevent the spread of the virus due to overcrowding in mandis post harvesting. Punjab has recorded 132 cases so far.
Delhi: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is believed to have asked for an extension of the lockdown across India as only a Delhi-centric extension will not serve any purpose. Delhi has seen the third highest number of cases owing to the outbreak reported from the Nizamuddin cluster, which is responsible for almost 30 per cent of the cases nationwide. Delhi’s total count reached 903.
“PM has taken correct decision to extend lockdown. Today, India’s position is better than many developed countries because we started lockdown early. If it is stopped now, all gains would be lost. To consolidate, it is imp to extend it,” Kejriwal tweeted.
Telangana: Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekara Rao was the first chief minister to suggest an extension of the national lockdown to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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