No plan for complete lockdown in parts of Chennai, govt. tells HC

No plan for complete lockdown in parts of Chennai, govt. tells HC

‘Issuance of e-passes to city residents has not been stopped’

13/06/2020

The Tamil Nadu government on Friday told the Madras High Court that there was no plan, at present, to enforce a complete lockdown in parts of Chennai.

It also termed as “rumours” messages being circulated on social media about the government having stopped issuance of e-passes to residents of Chennai who wanted to travel to other districts. Appearing before a Division Bench of Justices Vineet Kothari and R. Suresh Kumar, Additional Advocate General S.R. Rajagopal said that decisions on lockdown were being taken by the State government on the basis of recommendations of a technical committee appointed to look into ways and means to contain COVID-19. “As of now, Lockdown 5.0 is on with some relaxations,” he pointed out, stating that although the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 was on the rise in Chennai, the government had been taking steps to quarantine the infected and their family members. Restrictions were imposed on the movement of people from particular buildings and streets.

At this point, Justice Kumar asked if there was any plan to implement a complete lockdown in parts of Chennai and the AAG replied in the negative. “I don’t think there is going to be a 100% lockdown in Chennai… As of now, the government does not have any such plan,” he said.

“There is also some news about the government having stopped issuing e-passes to residents of Chennai city. Is that correct,” the judge asked. Mr. Rajagopal said that these were “rumours”.