Lockdown extended in TN till May 31, public transport to resume in 25 districts
The COVID-19 lockdown was on Sunday extended till May 31 in Tamil Nadu by Chief Minister K Palaniswami who announced new relaxations such as resumption of public transportation in 25 districts after a hiatus of nearly two months.
By : migrator
Update: 2020-05-17 13:25 GMT
Chennai
In a statement issued here, Palaniswami said based on the views expressed by a medical expert committee, district collectors and senior ministers, the lockdown has been extended till the midnight of May 31.
In 12 other districts, including Chennai, there will be no change in the curbs and will continue as they existed during the third phase of lockdown, set to end on Sunday, he added.
Citing consultations with top officials, public health and medical experts, he said the lockdown is extended till May 31 and the curbs including bar on functioning of educational institutions, public entry into religious places and relaxations already in force will continue throughout the state.
Palaniswami said the government will announce further relaxations once the coronavirus spread is reduced.
He said action is being taken to bring back Tamils stranded in other states by train in stages and with Central government permission two Rajdhani Express trains between New Delhi and Chennai will be operated per week.
According to Palaniswami all other restrictions that are currently on will continue till further orders.
Train/air/bus services with the permission of Central and state government will be operated.
Palaniswami announced new relaxation in curbs for 25 districts where people could avail government and private bus transportation for commute within the district and they do not need "TN e-pass," (permission for travel), he said.
- Coimbatore
- Erode
- Salem
- Tiruppur
- Namakkal
- Karur
- Tirunelveli
- Thoothukudi
- Tenkasi
- Kanyakumari
- Theni
- Madurai
- Sivaganga
- Virudhunagar
- Ramanathapuram
- Dindigul
- Pudukkottai
- Trichy
- Tiruvarur
- Thanjavur
- Nagapattinam
- Dharmapuri
- Krishnagiri
- Vellore
- Niligiris
The relaxations are:
- No e-pass needed to ply vehicles within the district
- For inter-district travel e-pass is needed
- Not more than 20 passengers in the case a bus, seven persons in the case of a van, three in a sports utility vehicles and two persons in a small car operated by private companies or for government work
- Taxis can be hired without e-pass for intra-district travel for emergency
- 100 per cent workforce allowed for MNREGA work
- For factories located outside Chennai, 100 per cent workforce is allowed for factories with less than 100 workers and for factories with over 100 workers, the workforce allowed is 50 per cent of the total workers subject to a maximum of 100 workers
- Valuation of 12th standard exam papers will be allowed
- Coaching for national and international sporting events is allowed with the permission of district collectors
- In the 12 districts where intra-district transport is not allowed, plying of taxis and autorickshaws is allowed with e-pass for medical emergencies only.
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