With several vehicles taking to the streets in Hyderabad as restrictions were eased after 45 days of lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus, the Telangana government issued guidelines on what was allowed and what was not.
The guidelines came even as traffic-jam like situations emerged at a few places as the police restored traffic signals and reopened some flyovers to tackle the high volume of traffic.
Though the police continued to check those stepping out with a valid reason at various points, many vehicles were seen plying in areas like Panjagutta, Banjara Hills, Masab Tank, Ameerpet, Kukatpally, Secunderabad, Abids, Koti, Khairatabad, Begumpet and LB Nagar.
The state government issued guidelines for four categories – individual movement, shops/ establishments, offices and activities.
Under individual movement, the state government said that the public can step out only for purchasing essential items and for emergency medical care.
Under the same category, the government said that persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 years should not step out of their houses unless it was for meeting an essential requirement.
“No movement of any persons during the period from 7 pm to 7 am,” the state government said.
Under the shops/establishments category, the government said that all retail liquor shops except those in containment zones and in malls in urban areas in the red zone are allowed.
Selling construction material, hardware, equipment and machinery for agriculture operations like seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and pumpsets is allowed. Those involved in warehousing, transporting and selling essential goods like milk, bread, meat and other food items are allowed to move around, besides private establishments that support the provisioning of essential services.
Meanwhile, all educational, coaching, training Institutions along with hospitality services like hotels and lodges will remain closed. Bars, pubs, cinema halls, theatres, shopping malls, gyms, swimming pools, sports complexes, amusement and zoo parks, museums, auditoriums, restaurants, barber shops, spas and saloons will also remain closed.
No shops or establishments except hospitals and pharmacies can remain open after 6 pm.
As far as offices were concerned, the state government said, “In all government offices, officers of the level of Deputy Secretary and above will attend office. The remaining staff will attend up to 33% as per requirement.”
Some departments in the government like Health and Family Welfare, Police, Fire and other emergency services will operate with 100% capacity.
Private offices in the Information Technology (IT) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) sector can operate with up to 33% strength, the government said.
As far as other activities were concerned, the state government directed, “All construction activities with in-situ workers, banks and other financial institutions, petrol pumps, LPG gas and oil agencies, their godowns and related transport operations will be allowed to function.”
E-commerce will be allowed for delivery of essential goods only.
“Manufacturing of IT hardware and manufacturing units of packaging material, etc can function with staggered shifts and social distancing. Production units which require continuous process, and their supply chain are also permitted,” the government said.
Besides this, the government said that agriculture operations, insurance and related activities, IT and ITES related services, transport and related operations, industrial estates and industrial townships with access control will also be allowed to operate.
“All religious places, places of worship and religious congregations are not allowed. All gatherings such as for social, political, sports, entertainment, academic and cultural purposes are also on hold. Taxis, cab aggregators, auto-rickshaws and metro rail services will remain closed,” the government added.
Here's a list of activities in #Hyderabad that are permitted and not permitted amid the #COVID19 lockdown in #Telangana pic.twitter.com/JyKpLzGFqM
— Nitin B (@NitinBGoode) May 10, 2020
Meanwhile, the city police continued to book people for violating rules such as pillion riding on two-wheelers and more than two persons in a four-wheeler.
“Hyderabad is a red zone, but it doesn’t mean that the entire city is that. The city has 30 circles and no cases have been reported from 22,” Health Minister Eatala Rajender told reporters on Friday when asked about the high volume of traffic in certain areas.
On May 5, the state government decided to extend the lockdown till May 29. Announcing the extension, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had said there would be no easing in the red zone, barring reopening of liquor shops and resumption of construction works.
The Chief Minister said he would review the situation on May 15 and depending on that a decision on relaxations in red zone districts would be taken.
With IANS inputs