Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered full lockdown in the state and banned unreasonable movement of people.

The government directed the district authorities to enforce the order in letter and spirit and not tolerate any violation failing which officials would be held responsible for laxity.

This was informed by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi in Lucknow against the backdrop of reports that the chief minister was annoyed with Noida district magistrate and chief medical officer for laxity on their part leading to rise in the number of coronavirus patients in Noida.

“The chief minister has conveyed to all district officials that from now on, no laxity would be tolerated. We don’t want people on the roads during lockdown,” Awasthi said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who reached Noida on Monday afternoon, was annoyed with the authorities and asked them why they did not act against a factory which was responsible for the spread of coronavirus.

The chief minister also visited the isolation centres in Noida and interacted with doctors and others to get firsthand information about the preparations.

Besides, the government also set up special committees for Noida and Meerut to deal with the spurt in coronavirus cases there.

On Tuesday, Yogi Adityanath would be going to Ghaziabad, Meerut and Agra, where most of the COVID-19 patients have been identified.

The number of COVID-19 patients in UP has gone up to 88 with 49 being reported in Noida and Meerut. In Noida, there were 36 reported cases of coronavirus infection of which 31 were linked to a factory while all 13 cases in Meerut had connections with that factory.

Meanwhile, the government cancelled the Ram Navami holiday on April 2 so that banks, financial institutions and treasury could function normally to meet the challenge.

Awasthi said that the situation in Uttar Pradesh was under control as all essential services were functioning normally and people were facing no problem.

“It is an appeal to the people that they should stay where they are and the government will provide all assistance. I can assure that no one will starve in the state,” he said.

The additional chief secretary said that authorities in every district had acquired complexes to house migrant workers and others, while hotels had been taken over for doctors and para-medical staff.