Central fiat forces Telangana to rethink on relaxations

Hyderabad: The Telangana government, which was preparing for the graded exit from the lockdown after May 7 by permitting industrial activity in areas like Ranga Reddy district, and allow partial relaxation in green zones notified by the Centre, is now having a rethink on it in view of the decision taken by the Union Home Ministry to extend the national lockdown till May 17.

The Ranga Reddy Collector urged the government to accord permission to operate some industrial activities like cement factories, ceramics and tiles, plastic and fibre industry, construction work and stone crushers in the district in compliance with the Central orders issued last week and the state government had agreed to it. DGP Mahender Reddy had issued instructions to the police not to stop trucks with construction material in the district. The Union Home Ministry on Friday issued a notification declaring six districts and asked the state to continue the lockdown in the red zones until further orders. The Centre had also announced 18 districts as orange zones and nine districts as green zones.

Officials said the Telangana government will take a call on the continuation of the lockdown in orange and green zones in the Cabinet meeting. The government has also initiated steps to implement the partial relaxation in rural Ranga Reddy district which does not fall under red zone. But with the latest decision of the Union Home Ministry, the state government will have to take a fresh view on the whole issue.

Meanwhile, in tune with the Union government's travel orders for migrated workers to their homes, the government commenced official process to repatriate the workers on a priority basis. Nearly 1,200 construction workers from IIT campus in Greater Hyderabad limits were sent to Jharkhand by a special train from Secunderabad Railway Station in the morning. A committee, headed by the Principal Secretary (Municipal Administration) Arvind Kumar, is making arrangements to send 50,000 workers to their native states of Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. At present, these workers are staying in the camps established at the project sites. The officials are coordinating with railway authorities to send the workers to their home states in a week. Before boarding the trains, all the workers will have to undergo medical tests.