Maharashtra cities, districts see lockdown, restrictions amid Covid-19 spike: Top developments

Owing to a rise in the number of coronavirus infections, Maharashtra has imposed restrictions on several cities, towns, and districts including Aurangabad, Pune and Nagpur among others.

Mumbai is yet to see any lockdown but the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) says it is focusing on wide-scale testing and tracing to bring the rising numbers under control.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra recorded this year's highest one-day spike on the third day in a row on Friday with 15,817 new infections coming to light.

The caseload in the state rose to 22,82,191, while the death toll reached 52,723 with 56 new fatalities.

Places in Maharashtra that are under lockdown or restrictions are:

Aurangabad

The administration in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district has imposed a complete lockdown on weekends. On weekdays, authorities have ordered a partial shutdown.

Earlier, the authorities had ordered night restrictions from 9 pm to 6 am till 4 April to contain the spread of Covid-19.

During this period, schools, colleges, wedding halls will remain closed.

The district administration had earlier announced that monuments in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district will remain shut till 4 April.

Aurangabad is home to world heritage sites Ajanta and Ellora Caves, and monuments including Bibi Ka Maqbara and Daultabad (Devgiri) fort.

Parbhani

The administration in Maharashtra's Parbhani has decided to impose a two-day curfew in the city limits and towns of the district over the weekend in view of rising Covid-19 cases in the state. The curfew will be imposed on Saturday midnight and will end at 6 am on Monday, the administration said on Friday.

Officials informed that strict actions will be taken against violators of the curfew.

The administration further informed that the curfew will be enforced in the municipal councils, nagar panchayats and a three-km area beyond these limits. However, vehicles of government offices, medical stores, hospitals and those engaged in emergency services are exempted. Home deliveries will be permitted from 6 am to 9 am and people who are traveling and going for testing will be allowed to move around.

Meanwhile, places of worship in the district will remain closed till March 31, he added.

Osmanabad

Night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am. Weekly markets to remain closed. Complete lockdown on Sundays. Maximum 5 people have been allowed for religious activity while gyms and playgrounds can operate with 50% capacity.

Pune

The Pune administration in the Maharashtra district has directed schools and colleges to remain shut till 31 March and curtailed the operating time for hotels and restaurants.

As per the new set of rules, schools and colleges will remain closed till 31 March, hotels and restaurants will be allowed to function till 10 pm, and food deliveries will be permitted till 11 pm, Pune divisional commissioner Saurabh Rao has said.

The Pune administration will ensure that the preparations for Class 10 and 12 board exams will not be affected at this time.

Considering the recent spike in coronavirus cases, hotels and restaurants will have to operate with 50% seating capacity, and operators have been asked to put up a board displaying the number of patrons on the premises at any given time.

Also, citizens will not be permitted to wander on city roads unnecessarily between 11 pm and 6 am, Rao added.

Apart from this, only 50 persons will be permitted to gather at weddings, funerals and political and other social events, the official said, adding that stringent action will be taken by the police in case of violations.

All public gardens and parks in Pune city will remain closed in the evenings, while they will be kept open in the mornings for "serious" morning walkers, he said.

Malls and multiplexes will be allowed to operate till 11 pm, he said.

Nanded

Several restrictions will come into force in the Nanded district of Maharashtra from March 12 with the intention of curbing the spread of coronavirus infection, officials said.

Collector Vipin Itankar issued an order to this effect on Thursday.

As per the order, shops will be operational from 7 am to 7 pm only. No weekly markets will be allowed in the district between March 12 and 21 and coaching classes shall remain closed during this period.

Hotels shall function from 7 am to 8 pm at 50% of their seating capacity. Gyms, playgrounds and swimming pools will remain functional for practice, but competitions are not allowed to be held there between March 12 and 21, it said.

Social, religious and political programmes will not be allowed to be held during this period, the order said.

Nagpur

A "strict lockdown" will be enforced in Nagpur from 15 to 21 March in view of a spike in cases of coronavirus, district guardian minister Nitin Raut announced today.

The district has been reporting a spike in daily cases since the last month.

Raut had chaired a meeting with top district officials and later told reporters that the lockdown will be enforced in the Nagpur Police Commissionerate limits from 15 to 21 March.

During the lockdown, private offices will remain closed, while government offices will work at 25% capacity, said Raut.

Shops of essential commodities will remain open, the minister said. Liquor will be sold online only during the lockdown period.

Raut said people should not move out unnecessarily.

Nashik

The Nashik district administration imposed several restrictions starting Tuesday after the number of Covid-19 cases rose in the district.

The district administration imposed restrictions in view of the rising number of cases after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray reviewed the situation.

"It is not a lockdown. Only some restrictions have been put in place to prevent a surge in case numbers," said Collector Suraj Mandhare said later in the evening.

As per Mandhare's order, all shops and establishments, except those engaged in essential services, will be closed from 7 pm to 7 am, while permit rooms will operate at 50% capacity and down shutters at 9 pm.

Places of worship will remain open from 7 am to 7 pm and remain closed during weekends.

Schools, colleges and coaching classes in Nashik, Malegaon, Niphad and Nandgaon will remain closed from March 10 till further orders, though classes for standards X and XII will continue due to upcoming board exams, the order said.

Educational institutions in Nashik city were ordered shut till March 15 a few days ago.

Earlier scheduled examinations such as UPSC and MPSC will be held, it added.

Marriage functions that had got permission earlier will be allowed to take place till March 15 after which no new nod would be given, an official said.

Thane, Palghar

Stringent measures would be needed to curb the surge in Covid-19 infections and people should follow outbreak protocols strictly to help the administration, Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation chief Vijay Suryavanshi said on Tuesday.

He said containment zones would be marked in KDMC and buildings where cases are detected will be sealed.

In Thane, 16 hotspots have been placed under lockdown till March 31, an order issued by civic chief Vipin Sharma said.

In Navi Mumbai, the owners of a marriage hall were fined ₹50,000 for social distancing and mask violations during a function held there, an official said.

The district administration in Palghar, meanwhile, banned fairs, temple festivals and other such gatherings till further notice.

Jalgaon

Amid spurt in coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, authorities in Jalgaon ordered to impose 'Janata Curfew' from 11 March 8 pm to 15 March, 8 am.

However, emergency services, MPSC and other Departments' exams in the Municipal corporation limits in Jalgaon will be exempted from the curfew, said Abhijit Raut, Jalgaon (Maharashtra) District Collector.

Raut also added that enforcement of this order "will be the responsibility of Municipal Corporation and Local Police."

Violators will be liable for action under the Epidemic act and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), he added.