On Day 2 of the Lockdown 3.0, India remained on edge as a record number of new coronavirus cases on Tuesday pushed the nationwide Covid-19 tally closer to the 50,000-mark and the death toll crossed 1,500 with over 190 more fatalities.
New Delhi, May 5:
While several authorities withdrew relaxations introduced from Monday, others relied on them to revive sinking state economies. While tipplers queued up outside the liquor shops, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh levied 70 and 75 per cent additional tases respectively on alcohol. Delhi and Punjab also spike the prices of petrol and diesel to make up for the lost revenues during the lockdown.
As the concern for coronavirus spread due to liquor queues gained traction on social media, states stressed that the revenue was crucial.
Meanwhile, the Centre announced ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ to bring back stranded Indians abroad. Air India will operate 64 repatriation flights for a week from May 7 while the Navy deployed two ships as India rolled out a massive evacuation plan on Tuesday to bring back thousands of its nationals stranded abroad due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.
Domestically, Indian Railways said that it has run 76 Shramik Special trains since May 1, carrying over 70,000 migrant labourers stranded due to the countrywide lockdown to their homes states. Twelve additional trains are likely to operate tomorrow.
COURTESY: India Today
