Telangana High Court rap spurs govt to initiate Covid curbs

Hyderabad: Following strong observation of the High Court asking the government to come up with decisions taken to contain the spread of pandemic within 48 hours, the State Government is contemplating measures like imposing night curfew and may be a partial lockdown in areas where the number of positive cases are high. The possibility of total lockdown is almost ruled out.

Total lockdown, the government feels, will adversely affect the economy.

It is already grappling to come out of the economic slowdown it has faced last year due to total lockdown. The only option before the government is to restrict movement of people in the public places and the closure of function halls, big gatherings, entertainment spots, clubs and multiplexes which are emerging as hot spots. Even closing the border or intensifying checks to restrict inter-state movement from Maharashtra may be considered.

Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar has convened a high-level meeting with officials of Medical and Health, Municipal Administration and police department on Tuesday to discuss the issue and will submit the decisions to the High Court by Wednesday. A scientific approach will be adopted before announcing the decision on the restrictions it would impose.

Earlier, the Chief Secretary discussed the developments with legal experts and submitted a report to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao who is in isolation after he was tested positive.

It may be mentioned here that during the day, the High Court rapped the State Government saying that the affidavit it had filed in Covid-19 related PIL petitions as "wishy-washy and disappointing." It wanted to know if the government was competing for the position of being Covid-19 topper in the country.

It said if the government does not inform what measures it would be taking to check the footfall in cinema halls and other public places within 48 hours, the court would be forced to take a decision, said a bench of Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy.

The bench expressed dissatisfaction over Advocate-General (AG) BS Prasad's reply that the State Government was gearing up to tackle the situation.

When the AG said the government was following the Centre's guidelines on Covid-19, the Chief Justice corrected him stating that the Centre had said States can formulate their own instructions on the issue.