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

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

13/06/2020

Vehicles bearing Chennai registration numbers being stopped at the Chengalpattu toll plaza.

S.R. Raghunathan

He said that e-passes were issued only by Collectors of destinations to which residents of Chennai wished to travel.

Those Collectors had to issue e-passes after taking into consideration various circumstances, including the need to quarantine visitors after letting them into their districts, he told the bench.

The AAG said that the intensity of the virus had changed and many asymptomatic people were testing positive for the disease. The government was working hard to contain its spread and the success of those efforts would depend on the cooperation of the people, he said.

Appreciating the efforts taken by the government, Justice Kumar said: “We see that the government is taking good steps. Even Ministers are on the streets, but you will have to be very careful because Chennai is continuing to be a hotspot.”

Meanwhile, advocate V. Vasanthakumar urged the court to take up a case filed by him seeking complete lockdown in the city.

Since the case papers were not before them, the judges posted the matter to Monday, subject to the roster to be decided by Chief Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi. The judges clarified that they only wanted to know, in public interest, whether the government had plans to impose a complete lockdown in Chennai.