New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday emphasised the need to plan phase two of bringing India out of the lockdown, with a focus on speeding up economic activities.
With this, Modi also laid to rest rumours of another lockdown in states that have seen a surge in Covid-19 cases.
The PM’s comment came on the second day of his video-conference interaction with chief ministers and administrators of states and union territories, who were split into two groups — 21 territories with a lower Covid-19 case load Tuesday, and 15 with a higher case load Wednesday.
The leaders discussed the situation faced by the states and UTs since 1 June, when the Centre eased most restrictions that had been imposed since 25 March to contain the spread of Covid-19.
PM Modi also asked states and UTs to take steps to boost infrastructure and construction-related work, and noted that with reduction in restrictions, indicators of economic performance are showing signs of revival. But he also cautioned them to remain alert, in order to effectively tackle the challenges faced by the migrant labourers in the coming months, according to a government statement issued after the meeting.
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States’ concerns
A senior government official who attended the meeting said that Telangana and Bihar were among the states which raised the issue of migrant labourers.
“While talking of the need to start more economic activities, KCR (Telangana CM K. Chandrashekar Rao) said measures need to be initiated to bring back migrant labourers who were working in the state and have gone back home during the lockdown,” said the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Rao said most of the labourers who have gone back from Telangana are originally from Bihar.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, meanwhile, spoke about how his state would try to provide opportunities to the migrants who have returned, so that they don’t need to go to other states in search of work.
Apart from these two, the CMs of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat also made presentations about how they are dealing with the pandemic.
Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, meanwhile, spoke about the need for a common action plan to manage the pandemic, given the surge in cases in the National Capital Region, which includes cities like Noida and Ghaziabad.
Gehlot strikes discordant note
The meeting also saw a rift between state and Centre on political lines come out in the open. With PM Modi stressing the importance of conducting more testing and surveillance to contain the spread of Covid-19, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot of the Congress said by now, all states know the best practices to deal with the pandemic.
“How Centre will help states overcome hardships after Lockdown should have been discussed,” Gehlot tweeted after the meeting.
He added: “Disappointed to see that in today’s VC with Hon’ble PM, challenges and limitations of Centre and state have not been discussed.”
All states by now know the best practices to deal with COVID-19. Disappointed to see that in today’s VC with Hon’ble PM, challenges and limitations of Centre and state have not been discussed.
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) June 17, 2020
Greater spread of virus in big cities & states
PM Modi also observed that the spread of the novel coronavirus is greater in certain big states and cities.
“High density of population, difficulty in maintaining physical distancing and daily movement of people in huge numbers has made the situation challenging, yet through patience of citizens, readiness of administration and dedication of corona warriors, the spread has been kept under control,” the government statement quoted Modi as saying.
Stressing the importance of testing to quickly trace, track and isolate those affected, Modi said there’s a need to fully utilise and also expand testing capacity.
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