Coronavirus In Telangana: CM KCR Appeals PM Modi To Extend 21-Day Lockdown

The lockdown is the reason the country is saved and has seen very few cases. A country like India has to be careful otherwise it will become uncontrollable.

Image: Twitter/TRS

Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) on Monday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend the lockdown by another one or two weeks. He said this was the only way to control the novel coronavirus from spreading further in the states. The 21-day lockdown to check the spread of Coronavirus in the country came into effect on March 25 and is set to end on April 14. The chief minister Rao forewarned that if the lockdown is lifted it could cost lives. Speaking to the media on Monday night, the CM asserted that India may not be able to handle if the situation intensifies due to the lockdown being hastily lifted. KCR said, "The lockdown is the reason the country is saved and has seen very few cases. A country like India has to be careful otherwise it will become uncontrollable. We have no other choice except to obey the lockdown. The economy will get hurt and we are spending a lot of money. At least we are not seeing deaths like Italy, Spain and the US,". KCR further said, “It is true that the country’s economy has taken a beating during the lockdown period. Telangana, too, suffered heavily – our revenue was just Rs 6 crore in the last six days, against the expected revenue of Rs 2,500 crore. But we can always revive the economy once this crisis is over, but we cannot bring back the lives of the people who could die in large numbers if the lockdown is lifted,”. In his statement, he further added that the country can recover from an economic problem but we cannot recover lives. “In a country like India with poor infrastructure and with a lot of working force, the only way for us is a lockdown. I appeal to the Government of India and Prime Minister to extend the lockdown without hesitation, consult Chief Ministers of all states, through video conferencing, am sure something positive will come". Telangana has so far recorded 334 positive cases. Thirty-three of them have recovered while there have been 11 casualties. Last week, Rao announced massive pay cuts for ministers, MLAs and government employees amid shrinking revenue. The government did not say how long the pay cuts would remain.