Odisha Relaxes Lockdown Norms For Agriculture

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has relaxed restrictions on all agricultural activities and fish-farming during the second phase of the nationwide lockdown in place till April 30.

The state government has stated that all godowns, wholesale markets and cold storage centres will remain open during this time. The Odisha government will not impose any restriction on movement of agricultural inputs.

The state government has also said that work related to drinking water and MNREGA will commence bringing much-needed relief to those in this sector.

On the COVID-19 front, the Naveen Patnaik government has been successful in containing the spread of the pandemic. The state has recorded 54 cases of those who tested positive for Coronavirus and 1 death. 12 people across the state have recovered from COVID-19.

The Centre continues to fight the coronavirus pandemic sweeping through the country. The total number of those affected by COVID-19 has now risen to 9152 including 308 deaths. The number of those who have recovered has also been encouraging. 856 people have recovered from the Coronavirus pandemic so far.

Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu have recorded the highest number of cases in the

country. Maharashtra has recorded 1985 cases of Corona positive and has seen 49 deaths.

Maharashtra has the highest number of cluster cases. Eight districts across state are

reported to have high numbers with the most cluster cases in the state.

Delhi has reported 1154 Coronavirus positive cases and 24 deaths, While Tamil Nadu 1043

cases of COVID-19 positive with 11 deaths.

Madhya Pradesh also remains an area of concern with 564 cases of COVID-19 positive and a

high number of 36 deaths.

Meanwhile, Union ministers and officials of the rank of joint secretary and above have started working from their offices in the national capital. Pictures of Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman at her North Block office and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar holding a meeting with officers, went viral on social media platforms.

The focus right now is on the second phase of the lockdown and how it would be implemented. It is widely expected that the Centre would make an announcement on Monday on this subject.