Entire West Bengal brought under lockdown till Mar 31

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday extended the ongoing lockdown in force in Kolkata and other urban areas of West Bengal to the entire state till March 31 to contain the coronavirus outbreak. The number of people getting infected is rising now, Banerjee, also the health minister of the state, said and urged citizens of the state to stay indoors and cooperate with the administration during the lockdown.

Banerjee announced a scheme Prochesta under which a financial help of Rs 1,000 will be extended to those working in the unorganised sector, who will be the worst hit by the lockdown. "We are standing on the threshold of an exceptionally unnatural situation. After assessing the situation, we have decided to extend the complete safety regulation to the entire state starting 5 pm today till March 31," Banerjee told a press conference at the state secretariat here on the second day of the lockdown.

The initial five-day lockdown in Kolkata and several urban agglomerations had begun on Monday and was scheduled to continue till March 27 midnight. "The decision was taken as a safeguard against the coronavirus. People will face problems, but if we can withstand the initial problem, it will help us in fighting the disease," the chief minister said.

Reiterating her claim that the Centre is yet to extend any help to her government to cope with the situation, she said, "We have already announced free ration for 8.85 crore people for the next six months. "Now, we are launching a scheme, Prochesta, to help those in the unorganised sector. They will get a financial help of Rs 1,000. They can apply for it between April 15 and 30." The chief minister also urged people not crowd shops selling essential commodities.

"Make sure you are standing in a safe distance from another person. Follow precautionary measures, cover your faces, maintain hygiene. I also request you not to play cricket on empty roads - the virus will spread," she said. Banerjee also urged those who have come back home in West Bengal from other states and abroad to follow strict isolation at home for 14 days.

In view of the fear that the virus could spread through newspapers, she said, police will monitor from Wednesday the distribution of newspapers by hawkers who will have to take necessary precautions. The vendors will be asked not to dump the bunch of newspapers on the road before distributing them to hawkers who take them to people. In this manner, viruses get spread. You must complete the entire process of distribution from 5 am to 7 am, she said.

The chief minister also said she has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to relax the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act which provides for limiting fiscal deficit of states to 3 per cent of the SGDP and raise it to 5 per cent. "We have not got any assistance from the central government. A few states have increased tax on petrol and diesel, but we have not done so because people will face problems.

"In the last one month, the markets have gone from bad to worse and we have no clue when the coronavirus will be controlled and what will happen to the economy in the coming days," she said..