New Delhi: Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), organisation responsible for the management of the Covid-19 situation in the national capital, held a meeting chaired by Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal on Thursday. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was also present in the virtual meeting.
In the DDMA meeting on Thursday, it decided to lift the weekend curfew and odd-even system of opening non-essential shops in the city besides permitting restaurants and bars to reopen with 50 percent seating capacity, in view of improving COVID-19 situation. The government offices have also been allowed to reopen with 50 percent staff, DDMA said.
The meeting was called to discuss the Covid-19 situation in the national capital. Many restrictions have been curbed after demands were raised from almost all spheres of Delhi's society.
Here Are The New Covid-19 Guidelines For Delhi:
- The Odd-Even rule of shops will end in Delhi markets
- The Weekend curfew will be lifted
- The Night curfew will continue
- Cinema halls will open with 50 percent capacity
- 200 people will be allowed to attend wedding ceremonies.
- Delhi government offices will open with 50 percent capacity
- Education institutes and schools will remain closed for now.
While the weekend curfew has been lifted, the night curfew will go on till further notice. Schools will remain shut despite the demand from parents.
The non-reopening of schools comes as a surprise as Delhi's deputy CM Manish Sisodia advocated for the reopening of schools. Sisodia said that the government had closed schools when it was not safe for children, but excessive caution is now harming students.
Significantly, there was a demand for lifting the restrictions from many spheres. Not only the business world but political parties also demanded the same. The Aam Aadmi Party and BJP are demanding relaxation in restrictions in Delhi.
It has to be noted that the businessmen of Delhi had appealed to the government and the LG regarding curbing the Covid restrictions. The traders say that due to the restrictions imposed on the markets, they faced heavy losses.
Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) also reached LG to give a memorandum regarding this. CTI chairman Brajesh Goyal said, "Due to the odd-even and weekend curfew, a shop is able to open only 6 to 7 days in a month, due to which the traders are facing huge losses."