The Uttar Pradesh government has withdrawn its decision to lift restrictions on government construction projects from April 15, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement to extend the lockdown till May 3.
State deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who was heading the panel on construction activities, said the state government’s decision to restart construction activities from Wednesday stood cancelled in view of the PM’s announcement to extend the lockdown. “We will wait for the Centre’s guidelines that will be issued tomorrow. We will call for a meeting of the construction committee after going through the guidelines and then announce the new date to re-start activities,” he said, adding that the number of COVID-19 positive people in UP has increased.
According to the principal secretary, health, Amit Mohan Prasad, 657 positive cases have been reported so far in the state. After treatment, 49 out of 657 patients have recovered fully and have been sent home, while 8 patients have died. “Forty-four districts of the state have been affected…The health department has increased the number of tests and, on Monday, 2634 samples were tested. Currently, 9274 people have been placed in the facility quarantine on the basis of suspicion and surveillance,” he said.
In his address, the PM said detailed guidelines on the new lockdown would be announced on April 15 and some conditions could be relaxed after April 20 in places reporting no new infections.
The UP government had on Monday decided to re-start construction of government projects, especially roads, expressways, and other big-ticket projects, from April 15, in order to revive the economy and also address the livelihood issue of millions of workers. The lifting of restrictions in the construction sector was to be followed in other sectors such as industry and agriculture sector.