Amid speculations of an absolute lockdown in Madhya Pradesh, the Bhopal administration announced a partial lockdown in the region for nine days starting April 9.
Eight municipal wards under Shahpura-Kolar areas have been put under lockdown till April 19, an order of the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Kolar area said.
Around 2.5 lakh people reside in the region, which is around 10% of the city, said the order, adding that there are 1,800 active patients in the region presently. None will be allowed to step out of their home in the said period and essential commodities including – grocery, vegetable and milk – will be delivered at doorsteps.
Locals can move around in emergency situations after procuring a permission from the local SDM, read the order. Industrial staff and government staffers will be exempted from the prohibition.
The area has reported 320 cases between April 1 to 7. Collector Avinash Lavaniya said that around 40% fresh cases are being reported from the area, of late.
Grocery and other stores saw huge rush of locals in the area on Thursday ahead of the commencement of the lockdown which remains in force from April 9 6pm to 6am on April 19.
Urban areas of the state have been put under weekend lockdown till further orders on Thursday.
District administration has ordered closure of coaching institutions for next 15 days.
After announcing lockdown for Chhindwara and Shajapur, the state government on Thursday instituted similar prohibitions for nine days in Ratlam and seven days each Betul, Katni and Khargone.
No lockdown for poll-bound Damoh
Interestingly, the administration has spared Damoh from any prohibitive measure. The constituency is going to polls on April 17. With 94 deaths so far, the district is at ninth place in terms of coronavirus fatalities in the state. The district has well over 200 cases with 30 fresh reported in last 24 hours.
Huge scarcity for Remdesivir injections in Indore
After battling scarcity of hospital beds, the commercial capital Indore is now grappling with acute shortage of Remdesivir injections as chemist shops are witnessing huge crowd for injections and locals are even lining up in the scorching heat for the medicine. Even locals from Bhopal and Ujjain are roaming around in Indore for the injections and police had to intervene at several places. Several districts are also facing shortage of oxygen supply.
51 die in Chhindwara in three days
Accusing Shivraj government for underreporting death cases in his home town Chhindwara, MPCC chief Kamal Nath asked administration to count the dead in crematoriums. “If he wishes to indulge in drama, let him go to Bollywood,” said Nath.
He said that Sausar and Pandhurna have seen 150 deaths but the administration figure is much less. He also alleged that very few tests are being done in MP these days whereas states like Maharashtra are doing two lakh tests daily. The administration has reported 51 deaths in Chhindwara within three days.
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