Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced a partial protocol-based opening of economic activities even as the State’s active corona cases went up to 132 with 17 new infections reported in the past one day.
Apart from allowing partial economic activities the Chief Minister also announced that the remaining three examinations of the State’s Higher Secondary (Class – XII) course will be conducted in the month of June when the State educational institutions will open as per an earlier announcement.
The Plus-2 board examinations had to be postponed mid-way following the announcement of the first phase of all India lockdown last month.
The students of the undergraduate and post graduate courses in all the colleges will be promoted to the next semester save those in the respective final semesters, Banerjee said adding the "final smester students will have to appear for their examinations."
“The students of Class XI will be promoted to Class XII and the remaining papers of the Class XII higher secondary examinations will be held in the month of June,” Banerjee said adding students of all the classes of undergraduate and post graduate courses --- “from 1st year, 2nd year 3rd year etc” --- will “move a semester ahead save those who are in the final semester whose examinations will be conducted” after the lockdown ends. However, there was no clarification from the Education Department on whether the college semester examinations would be clubbed with other semesters at later dates or whether the students will be promoted to next semesters without having to appear
for the relevant papers at all like the students of
Class XI. In the commercial sector the Chief Minister announced significant relaxation of activities based however on protocol and guidelines offered by the central government. Among the areas that will start limited functioning are agriculture, tea packaging, irrigation, road and building construction, ware-housing and industries in the rural areas.
The Chief Minister said, “tea-packaging, irrigation, road and building construction will start working with 25 percent workers taken at local level,” warning “strictly wearing of masks and social distancing will have to be followed.”
Apart from this Banerjee also said that the jute industry will be allowed to function in a limited capacity. A labour intensive affair the jute mills will start with 15 percent work force only the Chief Minister said adding the mill owners will have to take necessary clearances from the Chief Secretary for the purpose.
Elsewhere, 46 medical staff including doctors of Asia’s oldest Calcutta Medical College and Calcutta National Medical College were sent to mandatory quarantine following reports of corona infections in the stated medical colleges, sources said. The medical staff were quarantined following one death and two reports of infection, sources said.
Meanwhile even as the State Government ordered wearing of masks mandatory making certain areas out of bounds for the “outsiders” Bengal reported 17 new corona cases in the past 24 hours taking the total number of active cases to 132.
“There were 120 active cases till April 14 which went up to 137 as there were 17 new cases of infections reported,” Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha said adding “the total number of active cases now stand at 132 with five patients being cured and discharged.” In total, Bengal had tested about 3,470 cases he maintained. Notwithstanding the Government’s claims opposition BJP charged the ruling Trinamool Congress with hiding facts about the real number of deaths and infections besides alleging large-scale bungling over distribution of relief materials.
Senior party leader Sayantan Basu said “despite the Government’s claims we still can see that there is a difference of at least 18 cases … which means the Government is not showing these cases as corona positive.”
He also alleged that the “TMC workers have been given to distribute the relief materials in many areas leading to large scale bungling… they are stealing rice, flour, sugar from the total stocks and the people are suffering as a result.”