If Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is to be believed, the fate of the lockdown in Delhi post 17 May will not be decided by the AAP government. The decision regarding the lockdown, which is already in its seventh week, has been left on the 1.24 crore people of the national capital. Addressing a media briefing on Tuesday, the Chief Minister said: “I want to ask the people of Delhi—should buses run? Should Metro services begin? please send in your suggestions on what the government should do after May 17.”
He added that he has been taking suggestions from both the public and the experts. “I will also talk to doctors and then we will make proposals on behalf of the people of Delhi and send them to the Centre day after tomorrow,” the CM said. The suggestions can be sent by calling toll-free number 1031, WhatsApp number 8800007722 or by sending emails to delhicm.suggestions@gmail.com by 5 pm on Wednesday.
“Good suggestions will be discussed with experts and doctors,” the CM emphasised. Kejriwal said, “This lockdown is till 17 May. The Prime Minister has asked what the states want. He has asked us to send suggestions by 15th and then the Central government will decide about the future lockdown depending on those suggestions.”
At his meeting with the CMs on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the states to submit a written strategy by Friday on how they would deal with the “various nuances during and after the gradual easing of the lockdown”. “We now have reasonably clear indication as to the geographical spread of the pandemic in India, including the worst affected areas.
Moreover, over the past few weeks, officials have understood operating procedures in a time such as this, right up to the district level,” PM Modi said. In his meeting with the PM, Kejriwal gave suggestions on how to bring Delhi back on track. He advocated that economic activities should start in the capital, except in the containment zones. On Tuesday, 13 Covid-related deaths, the highest for a single day, were reported in Delhi, taking the total to 86 even as fresh cases surged to 406. With this, the capital has 7,639 cases of which 4,124 (53.98%) were reported in the month of May alone.