Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced on Tuesday night that prohibitory orders under Section 144 would be imposed across the state from Wednesday at 8pm onwards. He urged people to follow a ‘janata curfew’ and stay indoors voluntarily. This order will be in place for 15 days until May 1 at 7 am.
Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) prohibits the assembly of five people and above in public.
From 7 am to 8 pm, only essential services will be allowed to operate, including delivery workers. While public transport will continue, it should be only used for essential services. Hospitals, doctors, medical stores, clinics, medical insurance offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies, other health services, those involved in the vaccination drive, mask manufacturers, etc., can continue to function. Additionally, veterinary care, pet food shops, all food shops including groceries, vegetable shops, bakeries, those in agriculture, warehousing, those involved in work in preparation for the monsoon, e-commerce, journalists, petrol pumps and data and IT centres can remain open.
Restaurants and road-side stalls will be allowed to open only for takeaways.
Maharashtra had already announced weekend curfews in the state, with no movement allowed aside from essential services. The weekend lockdown will continue till April 30 and is in place from 8 pm on Friday to 7 am on Monday. A night curfew is also already being enforced in the state.
Essential shop owners and workers have also been urged to get vaccinated at the earliest, while following the criteria laid out by the Union government. They are also advised to follow all COVID-19 protocol for safety measures.
On Monday, 57,741 new cases were reported in the state, bringing the tally of positive COVID-19 patients to 34,58,996.