In an effort to control the spread of coronavirus, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, on Monday, announced that prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) will be imposed in the state from 6pm on March 24 till March 31. He also announced that all the district borders in the state will be sealed. Essential services will be exempted.
After an hour-long meeting with Health Minister Dr C. Vijayabaskar and authorities, Palaniswami made the announcement on the floor of the assembly.
Except essential transport, no public or private vehicles will ply. Public services like buses, trains, autorickshaws and cabs will not be available from Tuesday evening till March 31, said the chief minister. Shops selling essential items like milk, vegetables, groceries, petrol and diesel will be open. All private organisations have been asked to close down their offices or services. Except for medical services, no other government departments will function. The government has already asked their employees to work from home.
The government has also instructed all the construction work in the state to be shut till March 31, except for those which have to be completed urgently. Factories have also been instructed to be shut down except for those which manufacture essential items.
However, government-owned Amma Canteen will be open, while the hotels can also run and do home delivery. This has been allowed for the welfare of the senior citizens, homeless and the migrants.
The Tamil Nadu government, which already sealed its inter-state borders, will now close the district borders too, that is, passenger traffic will not be allowed between districts, except for essentials. An order to this effect will be issued by the state government this evening.
“This government will not compromise on the lives of the people. We will not allow even one person to die because of COVID-19. The people will have to cooperate with the government. Those who returned from foreign countries will have to quarantine themselves in the interest of the public. These efforts are taken to control the spread of the virus,” Palaniswami said in the assembly.
Class 12 exams for the state board are to end tomorrow, while exams for class 11 will end on March 26. Sources in the state education department say that class 11 exams are most likely to be postponed.
