Relaxations to come with stiff conditions 

Malls, cinemas may stay shut after May 3

19/04/2020 , Dennis S. Jesudasan, CHENNAI

The 21-member expert committee, constituted by the Tamil Nadu government to formulate an exit strategy, which met on Saturday, was of the primary opinion that all gains of the COVID-19 containment efforts made during the lockdown should not be wasted if and when the restrictions in place are partially relaxed after April 20 and post-national lockdown on May 3.

Following the meeting, which went on for more than two hours at the Secretariat, draft guidelines were being prepared, said officials. The guidelines will be in tune with those issued by the Centre and endorsed by the State government last week.

Sources said that the State government was looking at imposing strict guidelines, even if certain industries were allowed to operate.

“For instance, even if an industry is allowed to function, it will be between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. and not for the entire day. Even after May 3, many members felt that opening of malls and cinemas should not be allowed for some more time,” one of the members said.

In the absence of public transportation during the lockdown, the movement of workers to various units will be a challenge, it was felt. “If there were specific requests, they could request for chartered bus services,” said a member.

Rural industries

Only industries that are located in rural areas and are not labour-intensive or do not have employees working in close proximity under a roof are likely to benefit from the guidelines to be issued by the panel on Monday.

“As mentioned in the guidelines of the Centre and State governments, any operation with regard to agriculture, poultry, horticulture, animal husbandry will be allowed. Even construction activity, if undertaken by ensuring physical distancing, could be allowed, the committee felt,” another member said.

Industry experts too felt that even if the restrictions were relaxed, mobilising human resources from far off locations would be a major concern. The panel is scheduled to submit its report to the government on Monday.