Naveen S Garewal 
Tribune News Service 
Hyderabad, May 30 

Telangana extended the lockdown in the state on Sunday but also eased restrictions by four hours at the same time.

 The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting that Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) held on Sunday after taking various inputs from across the state.  

The lockdown is opposed by All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), a friendly party of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) saying the people were finding it hard to sustain in the absence of livelihood. AIMIM President and Hyderabad MP Asadudin Owaisi appealed to the government to keep people’s plight in mind while deciding on the extension of the lockdown.    

Consequently, the ground situation, where the number of cases of Covid-19 has come down but still much beyond the desirable, the cabinet decided to extend the lockdown by another ten days but relax the curfew by four hours. From the current curfew of 10 am to 6 am the next day, the government would allow people to indulge in necessary activities from 6 am to 1 pm. Another one hour has been accorded to people to reach home. 

The extension comes with a strict warning saying anyone found loitering would be booked and tried under the Disaster Management Act and other laws. The Hyderabad Police is registering close to 9,000 cases each day against people who are out of their homes without any valid reason, police commissioner Anjani Kumar has said. 

The government said lockdown will be implemented strictly from 2 pm to next day 6 am and there will be no laxity for anyone violating it. 

Chief Minister’s son and IT Minister announced the government decision and tweeted saying a decision has been taken as per the report submitted by the state health department. All the commercial establishments shall close at 1 pm. The grace time of one hour is being allowed enabling the people to reach their destinations.  

Earlier Owaisi has said that data showed Covid cases were declining in the state much before the lockdown was imposed adding, “I must reiterate my opposition. It’s not a strategy to combat Covid-19. It appears a ‘hard on pandemic’ strategy but all it does is destroy the lives of poor”.