Mamata Banerjee at Nabanna, Kolkata, on Monday. (Photo: ANI)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday announced that the lockdown in the state, which was slated to end on June 15, has been extended till June 30.
Adding a few more relaxations to the existing lockdown rules, she increased the number of people allowed in religious places, marriage functions and funerals from 10 to 25, while keeping the movement of people limited between 9 pm to 5 am.
Banerjee said since public transport is back on roads, the number of infections is increasing. “There are high chances of further spike in cases. Hence, please be careful and follow guidelines,” she appealed to people.
The Mamata Banerjee-led government had eased shutdown curbs in Bengal from June 1, allowing places of worship to open, and operations at jute, tea and construction sectors to resume fully. Shopping malls, restaurants and other establishments opened their doors to public on Monday after a hiatus of over two months, with the state government allowing further relaxations as part of Unlock 1.0, the first phase of a phased exit from the coronavirus-induced lockdown across the country.
On Monday, work resumed at different government departments in the state after a gap of more than two months. A senior government official at the state secretariat Nabanna told PTI that most departments witnessed almost 70 per cent attendance by noon, in line with the instructions issued by the government. Rosters have been prepared for employees who will attend offices on alternate days, while strictly adhering to social distancing norms, the official said.
Departments such as home, agriculture, marketing and finance registered high attendance. Similar was the scene at the health and education department offices in Salt Lake, he said.
Sources said the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), which had called for 100 per cent turnout from June 8, recorded almost full attendance.
Several employees from Nadia, South 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Howrah and Medinipore, however, complained that they had a horrid time reaching office in the absence of train services.
“Three of my colleagues and I hired a vehicle to reach Kolkata from Kakdwip today. We had to shell out Rs 5,000,” an employee at the state food department told PTI.