New Delhi: Only 25 per cent Indians have clarity about the rules pertaining to the third phase of the lockdown, a survey has found.
Conducted by the LocalCircles and published Thursday, the survey showed that many continue to remain confused about what is permitted during this lockdown and what isn’t.
The third phase of the lockdown came into effect from 4 May and will continue until 17 May.
On being asked if they are clear about the functioning of local shops, e-commerce and business establishments in their areas, 25 per cent of the respondents said they were totally confused, while 34 per cent said they were somewhat confused.
Only 25 per cent of the respondents said they were completely clear about everything, while 15 per cent said they were not confused, but had a small doubt.
LocalCircles, a community social media platform and pollster, conducted the survey among 12,410 people across tier-1, tier-2, tier-3 and tier-4 cities, as well as in rural districts.
Also read: Modi got all the credit for lockdown. Now, he wants states to share risk of unlocking India
Guidelines wanted both in English & local languages
The guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on the extended lockdown were followed by a series of clarifications on movement of people in red, green and orange zones. State governments, too, issued guidelines.
The survey found that many took objection to “the state and local notifications being issued in languages without an English copy making them hard to understand for many”.
People wanted notifications to be both in English as well as the language of the state, the survey showed.
Besides the lack of clarity on the guidelines, respondents were also found to be concerned about the easing of restrictions in certain “high virus load” districts.
No relaxations in ‘high virus load’ districts
Last month, certain districts with a “high virus load” and exceptionally high number of coronavirus cases were identified. These included Hyderabad, Pune, Jaipur, Indore, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, among others.
These “high virus load” districts were part of the 130 red zones identified by the MHA. The ministry even eased some restrictions in the red zones during this lockdown.
But an overwhelming majority of the respondents don’t want relaxations to be applicable in the “high virus load” districts, according to the survey.
As many as 74 per cent of the respondents said there should be no lockdown relaxations in “high virus load” districts, while 25 per cent citizens said that the red zone relaxations must apply to these districts as well.
As many as 88 per cent of the respondents were from the “high virus load” districts.
As of Thursday afternoon, India reported 35,902 active cases with 1,783 deaths.
Also read: Before lockdown relaxation, states confused over Centre’s Red, Green, Orange classifications