Total Unlock: UP govt lifts all Sunday curbs

LUCKNOW: The weekend restrictions are set to be fully lifted from the state with chief minister Yogi Adityanath directing officials to allow shops and commercial establishments to operate on Sundays.
The state was having weekend curbs on Saturdays and Sundays for the past two months to check the spread of coronavirus. However, last week the curbs on Saturdays were lifted. On Tuesday, it was announced that there would be no Sunday curbs as well from the next week and the markets will be closed as per pre-Covid weekly arrangements.
Additional Chief Secretary (home) Awanish Awasthi said that the CM has focussed on revival of economic activity and therefore, all commercial establishments can now close on days that they were following before the lockdown.
The CM also directed officials to ensure that hotels, restaurants and bars outside containment areas are allowed to function. However, in view of rising Covid-19 cases, the government will stress on Covid-19 prevention guidelines, including social distancing, wearing of masks, sanitation, etc, strictly, he said.
To deal with the increasing number of cases, the chief minister has asked SGPGI, KGMU and RML to prepare 1,000 more ICU beds. He has said that all the people living in over 19,000 containment zones in the state at present should be tested for Covid-19 infection.
The CM has said that in line of the ease of doing business rankings in which UP stood second, the state should now focus on ease of living. For this purpose, he has said, officials should start preparing parameters and ensure that these are implemented at the earliest.
During a meeting with Team 11 on Tuesday, the chief minister said that Tehsil Diwas and Thana Diwas should be observed with Covid-19 protocols.
Police officials and tehsil officers should meet public and resolve their issues. He added that for the success of these days, it is imperative that they resolve issues in a time-bound manner. CM Yogi said more and more traders should be made to register under GST to increase the state’s collection.
Under the Smart City programme, 10 cities identified by the Centre and seven by the state are being developed as smart cities. The CM has said that the development works being undertaken in these 17 cities should be completed at the earliest.