FICCI writes to 25 CMs urging not to impose lockdown

In the letter written to state CMs by FICCI President Uday Shankar, the industry chamber has acknowledged the need to break the Covid chain but has suggested the strategy to focus more on ramping up covid testing, awareness drive and enforcement of Covid appropriate behaviour rather than lockdown.

New Delhi:Industry body FICCI has written to Chief Ministers of 25 states urging them to avoid imposing partial or total lockdown in the wake of fresh surge in Covid-19 cases.

The industry body also argued that the economy has barely begun to turnaround from the impact of the earlier lockdowns and such decisions now will push the economy into downward spiral.

In the letter written to state CMs by FICCI President Uday Shankar, the chamber has acknowledged the need to break the Covid chain but has suggested the strategy to focus more on ramping up covid testing, awareness drive and enforcement of Covid appropriate behaviour rather than lockdown.

"The population may be sensitised about the Covid appropriate behaviour like wearing masks, physical distancing and personal hygiene. Support may be taken by involving volunteers from the schools, colleges and the NGOs. Strict compliance to Covid protocol may be ensured with suitable penalties for violations," the letter states.

FICCI has represented to the Union Government to open up the vaccination for all the people above 18 years of age to give a massive push to the vaccination drive as there is no shortage of vaccines and the inoculation capacity can be increased with the participation of the private sector.

The state government will have to play a major role to encourage people to come forward for vaccination and build capacities with the help of private sector for the expected jump in inoculation, FICCI has urged states.

Vaccination camps in the colonies and societies with the help of Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) will also help push the vaccination drive, the letter added.

The letter has been written to CMs of 25 states and UTs including Delhi, Goa, Puducherry, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana, J&K, Odisha, Kerala, Gujarat, Assam, Tamil Nadu.

The US-based BofA Securities, expressing similar apprehensions, said that lockdowns would pose a threat to the fragile economic recovery.

According to BofA, a nationwide lockdown for one month would shave off up to 2 per cent of GDP.

“We grow even more concerned that rising Covid-19 cases pose a risk to our still shallow recovery...We estimate that a month of national lockdown costs 100-200 bps of annual GDP. Needless to say, this also aggravates fiscal risks," it said early this month.

(With IANS Inputs)