Following reports of violation of lockdown imposed for preventing spread of coronavirus, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked people to follow the guidelines in letter and spirit and help the police in maintaining law and order else the administration would act tough on violators.
“You should save yourself and your family by staying inside your homes and follow government rules and regulations to fight coronavirus. The lockdown has been announced for keeping you and your family safe,” the chief minister said in a tweet on Monday.
Yogi said, “I again appeal to the people to stay indoors and take the guidelines seriously. This is a global health crisis. We can fight it by staying inside our homes.”
Later, in a statement the chief minister said that the situation in Uttar Pradesh was under control and no fresh cases had been reported on Monday.
He claimed that there were 31 Covid-19 positive cases in the state out of which 11 had recovered and returned to their homes and the rest were stable and recovering.
The chief minister also said that he would hold a meeting with traders and medicine wholesalers on Tuesday and see whether home delivery was possible for vegetables and medicines.
“We have over 4,000 PVR vans. If we get support from traders we can go for home delivery of vegetables and medicines,” he said.
Yogi again reiterated that people coming from other states should self-isolate themselves and in case of emergency they should immediately contact 112, 102 or 108 emergency numbers.
“This is a crisis situation but we will emerge victorious. For this people should join hands and support the administration by following the guidelines,” he said.
The government has issued strict warning to the violators and asked the district authorities to register FIRs against them and even take them into custody.
A report said that in Ghaziabad, 55 people were booked under relevant sections on Monday when they came out of their houses without any specific reasons.
In Meerut, 24 people were booked, 50 vehicles seized and 450 vehicles challaned
The administration came into action after reports started pouring about people violating lock- down guidelines and venturing out of their houses to have a dekko. At many places, including in Meerut, Saharanpur, Noida, Ghaziabad and Lucknow, people had heated exchange of words with the police personnel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to the twitter, asking people to stay indoors. He said that people were not taking the restriction seriously and asked the state governments to ensure proper lockdown.
After the prime minister’s tweet and chief minister’s directive, the administration went into an overdrive.
A high-power meeting was held at UP Police headquarters at Signature building in Gomti Nagar, where DGP HC Awasthi and Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi reviewed the situation. They directed the district magistrates and district police chiefs to take stern action against those violating the lockdown and also seal inter-state borders.
“No one would be allowed to enter or leave the districts which have been locked down. People should realise that this has been done for their benefit. They should stay in home and stay safe,” Awanish Awasthi said.
The districts under lockdown are Lucknow, Kanpur, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Moradabad, Agra, Prayagraj, Aligarh, Bareilly, Varanasi, Meerut, Azamgarh, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, and Lakhimpur Kheri.
Another district Pilibhit was added to this list after a 45-year-old woman, who returned from Saudi Arabia after attending Umra, tested positive for novel coronavirus infection.