11 cities in Maha, Rajasthan, WB and MP under 'serious situation'

Analyzing the situation, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced that Indore, Mumbai, Jaipur and Kolkata are among 11 cities where COVID-19 "situation is especially serious." To deal with the growing menace, the government has also constituted six Inter-Ministerial Central Teams.

New Delhi:The Centre on Monday announced that Indore, Mumbai, Jaipur and Kolkata are among 11 cities in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and West Bengal where COVID-19 "situation is especially serious."

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) made the announcement after analyzing the prevalence of lockdown violations in major hotspot districts in these cities of the four states.

The situation is especially serious in Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Mumbai and Pune (Maharashtra), Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Kolkata, Howrah, Medinipur East, 24 Parganas North, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, the Ministry said through a statement based on lockdown violation reports.

The Ministry further noted that "expertise of the Centre need to be used" in these states.

Mentioning if the incidents of violations are allowed to occur without any restraining measures in hotspot districts or emerging hotspots or even places where large outbreaks or clusters may be expected and pose a serious health hazard, the Ministry said, it will pose danger for the population of these districts as well as for the people of the country.

To deal with the growing menace, the government has constituted six Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) to focus on the implementation of, compliance with the lockdown measures as per the guidelines, supply of essential goods and other related issues, said the statement.

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The six IMCTs include two each for West Bengal and Maharashtra and one each for Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to make an on-spot assessment of the situation and issue necessary directions to state authorities for its redressal and submit their report to Central government in the larger interest of the general public.

The committees have been constituted by the central government in exercise of the powers conferred under the Disaster Management Act 2005.

The IMCTs will focus their assessment on the compliance and implementation of lockdown measures as per guidelines and they will also focus on issues like the supply of essential commodities, social distancing in the movement of people outside their homes, the preparedness of the health infrastructure, hospital facility and sample statistics in the District, the safety of health professionals, availability of test kits, PPEs, masks and other safety equipment, and conditions of the relief camps for labour and poor people.

"IMCTs will commence their visits at the earliest," the statement said.

The Centre's motive behind the formation of the IMCTs is to ensure the proper enforcement of the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of novel coronavirus which has claimed 543 lives and over 15,000 confirmed cases across the country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14 extended the 21-day lockdown for another 19 days. The ongoing restrictions under the lockdown are slated to end on May 3.

The Ministry also cited Supreme Court's order dated March 31, 2020, in which it had observed that "We trust and expect that all concerned state governments, public authorities and citizens of this country will faithfully comply with the directive and orders issued by the Union of India in letter and spirit in the interest of public safety."

(IANS Report)