New Delhi,  June 2:

Life returned to near normal in many parts of the country as several restrictions were eased in the fifth phase of the lockdown that began on Monday.

Roads bustled with traffic as people came out in large numbers to visit markets, which are now open for longer hours.

After the Centre allowed lifting of restrictions on inter-state movement of people, several states also began allowing various activities that have been restricted since March 25, when the nationwide lockdown came into effect to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

DELHI OPENS BARBERSHOPS, CLOSES BORDER

In the national capital, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the reopening of barbershops and salons, among various other relaxations, but said spas will remain closed for now. A complete lockdown in containment zones will continue till June 30.

Kejriwal also said there will be no restrictions on the number of people travelling in four-wheelers, two-wheelers, auto-rickshaws, e-rickshaws and other vehicles in the city.

A traffic jam was seen on the Delhi-Haryana border after CM Kejriwal’s announcement. (Photo: PTI)

Now, all shops in the markets will be permitted to function, Kejriwal said.

He, however, said Delhi’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh will be sealed for a week in the wake of rising coronavirus cases in the city and sought suggestions from the people by Friday to reopen them.

GUJARAT OPENS UP AGAIN

In Gujarat, life returned to near normal in many parts including in Ahmedabad, the state’s worst coronavirus-hit district, as several restrictions were eased.

In Ahmedabad, a limited number of city buses began plying with 50 per cent seating capacity to maintain social distancing, while autorickshaws hit the roads for the first time in ten weeks, though the reduced number of passengers they have been permitted to ferry was a dampener.

People maintain social distancing on a bus in Ahmedabad. (Photo: PTI)

The Ahmedabad civic body has also identified ‘micro-containment zones’, thereby reducing the number of people covered in restricted areas to nearly 70,000 as compared to almost 13 lakh earlier.

A bus station in Ranip area of Ahmedabad saw people gathering since early morning to catch intra-state transport buses, though the capacity was restricted and those boarding were first checked by conductors holding temperature guns.

The textile market in Surat, among the largest in the country, resumed business after it was sanitised earlier by civic authorities, with shops opening under an odd-even mechanism from 9 am to 4 pm.

SOCIAL DISTANCING GOES FOR A TOSS IN BENGAL

Most areas of activity resumed across West Bengal on Monday as the over-two-month-long lockdown was relaxed, industries and commercial establishments reopened in full strength and shrines threw open their doors.

People in large numbers came out on the streets of Kolkata, practically throwing the social-distancing norms to the wind, while traffic snarls, a common enough feature in the city pre-lockdown, were noticed at many places.

Women offer prayers on the occasion of Ganga Pooja in Kolkata. (Photo: PTI)

Long queues were seen at many buses and autorickshaw stands as government buses plied with full seat occupancy and autorickshaws with just two passengers. This coupled with the absence of local trains or Metro services, which are yet to resume, and public transport resulted in a harrowing time for a large number of commuters.

STREETS COME ALIVE AGAIN IN TAMIL NADU

After a hiatus of 68 days, government-run buses resumed operations in a limited manner in Tamil Nadu on Monday except in Chennai and three nearby districts while autorickshaws, which were already plying in other parts of the state, hit the roads in Chennai.

Also, intra-state passenger train services were back on track in Tamil Nadu

Private vehicles, autorickshaws ply on Chennai roads. (Photo: PTI)

connecting key places for the first time since the Covid-19 lockdown was announced on March 24 and the resumption of public transport, albeit, curtailed, brought cheers to the general public.

NO TAKERS FOR RAJASTHAN MONUMENTS

After over two months of closure due to the coronavirus lockdown, monuments and tourists places in Rajasthan reopened on Monday with cultural events and performances by folk artists, but there was no footfall.

Domestic tourists mostly visit these places during the summer season and they can be expected in the next few days.

Folk artists perform at Jaipur’s iconic Jantar Mantar. (Photo: PTI)

Barring the high-risk areas where the authorities have clamped a curfew to check the coronavirus spread, shops reopened in the Jaipur’s walled city after over a gap of two months on Monday.

However, the response from people remained lukewarm as a majority of shops in the main markets of the walled city reopened.

LUCKNOW BOUNCES BACK TO LIFE

In Lucknow, Alambagh, Nahariya Chauraha, VIP Road and Rae Bareli road tri-section, which had virtually turned into zones of silence following the imposition of lockdown, witnessed a flurry of activities and clamorous honking of vehicles.

After relaxing curbs on movement, traffic congestion also witnessed at some places in Lucknow as the government allowed two people (rider and pillion) on two-wheelers and private cabs to ply as well.

Markets opened in the city on the basis of the left-right formula as directed by the district administration.

Shops in Lucknow markets open as authorities ease lockdown restrictions. (Photo: PTI)

In Allahabad, shops in Civil Lines opened, and the Hanuman Mandir Chauraha, which wore a deserted look since Holi, witnessed the movement of people and vehicles.

Shops in Banda also opened on Monday and UPSRTC buses to other districts of the state also started plying.

ODISHA ANNOUNCES WEEKEND SHUTDOWN

Amid a spike in Covid-19 cases and reports suggesting that outbreak might peak in June, Odisha on Monday announced weekend shutdown for the month in 11 districts of the state, anticipating that people might venture out in large numbers as the Centre has eased lockdown curbs.

The state government has also prohibited all sorts of public congregations across the state till month-end, Chief Secretary A K Tripathy said.

“Educational institutions, including schools, colleges, coaching centres, will remain closed till the end of July, while places of worship will be shut for devotees up to June 30. Similarly, shopping malls, cinema halls, swimming pools and gyms will also remain closed till June-end, he said.

Hotels, however, will be allowed to reopen with just 30 per cent occupancy, but their restaurants will be operating only for in-house requirements, the chief secretary said.

The two-day shutdown would be implemented in Bolangir, Nayagarh and nine coastal districts, including Khurda, Cuttack, Puri, Kendrapara and Balasore, in view of “high-case load” in these places, he said.

CENTRE GIVES BOOST TO MSMES, FARMERS, STREET VENDORS

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and farm sectors received major boosts on Monday as the Union Cabinet approved relief packages announced earlier by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with a few new reliefs.

The Cabinet approved a package worth Rs 20,000 crores which will benefit 2 lakh MSME units, Union minister Prakasha Javadekar said. The government also approved a Rs 50,000 crore package for the street vendors. Under this package, street vendors, including hawkers, cobblers and salons, can get a loan of Rs 10,000. The Union minister said that at least 50 lakh vendors will benefit from this scheme.

Union Cabinet meets for the first time in the second year of Modi 2.0 (Photo: PTI)

Prakash Javadekar also announced that the government is going to keep up with the promise of increasing the MSP by 150 per cent. He said that increase in MSP rates would translate into 50 to 83 per cent profit to the farmers against their cost. This MSP will be applicable for 14 Kharif crops.

The decisions taken by the Union Cabinet will bring about positive changes in the lives of farmers, labourers and workers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said as his government entered the second year in office.

KEEP MIDDLE SEATS VACANT: DGCA TO AIRLINES

Aviation regulator DGCA asked airlines to keep middle seats vacant to the extent possible in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. If a flyer has been allotted the middle seat due to a high passenger load, then additional protective equipment like a wrap-around gown must be provided to the passenger in addition to a three-layered face mask and face shield, the DGCA said.

While hearing a petition on whether to keep middle seats in flights vacant or not, the Supreme Court had on May 25 said that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is free to alter its norms in the interest of public health and safety of passengers “rather than of commercial considerations”.

200 TRAINS PLY ON DAY 1 OF UNLOCK 1

The railways began the services of 200 special trains carrying around 1.45 lakh passengers across the country on Monday with almost 60 per cent trains running over the Northern Railway network.

The first such train left Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj station for Varanasi at 12:10 am.

Photo: PTI

The national transporter plans to run 200 such trains.

The Northern Railway bore 60 per cent of the traffic of these trains with 118 running over its network, including 100 either terminating or originating from the zone, and nine others passing through it.

In the Delhi area, 36 trains terminated or originated from the New Delhi railway station and eight passed through it, while 18 trains terminated or originated from the Nizamuddin station and one passed through it.

Passengers queue up outside New Delhi Railway Station. (Photo: PTI)

The Western Railway ran 34 special trains originating from Mumbai, Surat and Ahmedabad.

Most of these trains carried around 1,100-1,200 passengers each, officials said.

ELECTION COMMISSION MEETS PHYSICALLY AFTER THREE MONTHS

A meeting of the “full commission” — the chief election commissioner and two election commissioners — took place at the Nirvachan Sadan in Delhi on Monday for the first time in nearly three months.

The poll panel had been holding virtual meets as Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, who was visiting the United States on leave in the first half of March, got stranded there due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Election Commission meeting at Nirvachan Sadan. (Photo: PTI)

Arora returned to India recently and underwent the mandatory quarantine before joining office on Monday.

INDIA HITS 1.9 LAKH CORONAVIRUS CASES

The nationwide tally of confirmed Covid-19 cases crossed 1.9 lakh on Monday after a record number of nearly 8,400 people tested positive, but recoveries also rose further to near 92,000.

The death toll rose to 5,394 after a record single-day spike of 230 fatalities in the 24 hours since Sunday 8 AM, the Union Health Ministry said in its morning update. It showed the number of confirmed cases rising by 8,392 to 1,90,535.

India is now the seventh-worst hit nation by the Covid-19 pandemic after the US, Brazil, Russia, the UK, Spain and Italy, according to the WHO’s coronavirus tracker.

In India, the number of active Covid-19 cases stands at 93,322 while 91,818 people have recovered, giving a recovery rate of 48.19 per cent, according to the latest health ministry data.

RECOVERY RATE IMPROVING, FATALITY RATE GOING DOWN: MOHFW

The health ministry said India’s Covid-19 recovery rate has been improving and the rate of fatality has seen a steady decline to reach 2.83 per cent.

It said the recovery rate has improved from 11.42 per cent on April 15 to 26.59 per cent on May 3 and to 38.29 per cent on May 18.

It further said the case fatality rate in India is 2.83 per cent, as against 6.19 per cent globally. From 3.30 per cent on April 15, India’s Covid-19 fatality rate declined to 3.25 per cent on May 3 and came down further to 3.15 per cent on May 18.

“A steady decline can be seen in the case fatality rate in the country. The relatively low death rate is attributed to the continued focus on surveillance, timely case identification and clinical management of the cases,” the ministry said.