No movement without reason, no establishments to be open unless essential, and no violations of COVID-19 protocol—or a Rs 500 fine. If your memory of the nationwide lockdown in March 2020 is still fresh, the norms to be adhered to for the next 15 days in Maharashtra will be familiar.
With Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announcing a 15-day “Janta Curfew” backed by the implementation of Section 144, the CM hopes that these prohibitive measures will make a dent on the state’s booming coronavirus tally, on a day that it added over 60,000 cases.
The curfew, which excludes essential services, will come into effect from 8 pm on Wednesday, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said in his address via social media to people of the state.
Section 144 (prohibitory orders) of the Criminal Procedure Code will be in force till the "lockdown-like" restrictions are in place, Thackeray said.
He refrained from terming the new curbs as a lockdown.
Here is all you need to know about the prohibitions in Maharashtra during the Janta Curfew.
Are you an essential worker?
Nurses working at the registration counter at a vaccination centre | Amey Mansabdar
Under the principle of “essential for essential is essential”, those who work for essential services and need to travel to perform these services will be exempted, with implementing agencies asked to note that the fundamentally strict restrictions relate to the movement of people but not to goods and commodities as a matter of principle.
The essential category includes those who work in hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres, vaccinations (manufacturing and distribution), medical equipment, pharmaceutical companies and other health services.
Veterinary services and animal care shelters and pet food shops will also be allowed to remain open.
All types of food shops will be allowed, including groceries, vegetable shops, fruit vendors, dairies, bakeries, confectioneries. Besides, cold storage and warehousing services will also be allowed.
Those who work in public transport will also be in the essential category, as will those who work on ore-monsoon activities within local authorities and all public services under local authorities. Services related to the functioning of offices of diplomats of various countries will also be essential.
Those who work with services required for restoration or maintenance of telecom services will also be exempted, as will those working in the transport of goods and those working in water supply services.
Agriculture-related activities and all allied activities required to ensure seamless continuity of the agricultural sector including the availability of farming input, seeds, fertilizers, equipment and repairs.
Those who work with the export or import of all commodities will be included.
The RBI and services designated by the RBI are also essential, as are all offices of SEBI recognised market infrastructures like stock exchanges, depositories, clearing corporations and other intermediaries registered with SEBI.
E-commerce, only for the supply of essential goods and services, will be allowed.
Accredited media will be allowed.
Petrol pumps and petroleum-related products including offshore and onshore production will be allowed. All cargo services will be permitted, as will data centres, cloud services and IT services supporting critical infrastructure and services.
Others include government nan private security services, electric and gas supply services, ATMs, postal services, ports and related activities, Custom House Agents, Licensed Multi-Modal Transport Operators associated with vaccines, lifesaving drugs or pharmaceutical products, units who produce raw material or packaging material for essential services, that are engaged in the production of materials for the impending rainy season, and any services designated as essential by local disaster management authorities.
In addition, the following offices are included in the exemption category:
Government offices of central, State and local government,s including of their statutory authorities and organisations, cooperative, PSU and private banks, offices of companies providing essential services, insurance and medicliam companies, pharma company offices needed for management of production or distribution, RBI-regulated entities and intermediaries, all non-banking financial corporations (NBFCs), all microfinance institutes, and offices of advocates if the operations of courts, tribunals or commissions of enquiries are on. In these, except for government offices working with COVID-19 response, they should work with minimum staff and in no case with more than 50 per cent of normal capacity. Local disaster management authorities can add exceptions to offices if needed.
Units in the manufacturing sector that manufacture items needed for essential services can remain operational with full capacity, as can export oriented units needed to fulfil export obligations, and units that require processes that are of such nature that they cannot be stopped immediately, and cannot restart without considerable time requirement may continue with up to 50 per cent of their workforce at any given point of time. These processes must not be net consumers of oxygen unless producing items needed for essential services.
Everyone working in the activity of vaccinating people as per government criteria
Movement
File photo: Workers sanitise a public bus
Services and activities in the Exceptions Category are exempted between 7 am and 8 pm on working days, with their movements and operations to be unrestricted during this period. Essential workers are to have unrestricted movement.
Parcels or home delivery of food will be allowed from 7 am to 8 pm every day only.
Public transport will be fully operational with the following restrictions: Auto rickshaws to operate with just the driver and two passengers, taxis (4-wheelers) to have only the driver and 50 per cent of the vehicle capacity as per the RTO. Buses can travel with full seating occupancy, but no standing passengers will be allowed.
Private vehicles including private buses can ply for emergency purposes, essential services or for valid reasons specified in the government’s order. The movement of personnel to perform duties related to essential shops will constitute a valid reason.
Persons arriving or department by any bus or train from or towards their place of residence may travel on basis of a valid ticket through public transport.
Whether domestic help, drivers and attendants will be allowed to work under the exceptions Category will be decided upon by local authorities based on local conditions.
What is barred
A guard sits in front of a closed cinema hall
Cinema halls will remain closed, as will drama theatres, auditoriums, amusement parks, arcades, video game parlours, water parks, clubs, swimming pools, gyms, sports complexes. Shooting for films, serials or advertisements will be closed. All shops, malls, shopping centres not performing essential services shall be closed.
Public places like beaches, gardens and other open spaces shall remain closed.
Religious places of worship shall remain closed, however, all personnel engaged in the services of these places may continue to do so without allowing outside visitors in.
Barbers shops, spas, salons and beauty parlours to remain closed.
Schools and colleges to remain closed. Staff working on the conduct of the postponed X and XII class exams must get vaccinated or carry a negative RT-PCR/RAT/TruNAT/CBNAAT certificate, valid for 48 hours.
Private coaching classes of any kind will remain closed.
Students who have to attend any exam physically may travel along with one adult, on basis of a valid hall ticket for the same.
No religious, social, cultural or political functions of any kind will be allowed.
The state government had already announced a slew of restrictions, including a weekend lockdown, night curfew and prohibitory orders for the day time. These restrictions would continue till April 30.
Guidelines
COVID-appropriate behaviour (CAB) protocol to be followed in all establishments and vehicles—violations will see both the shop/vehicle-owner and the violator being punished with a fine. Masks are mandatory in public transport and in vehicles for all occupants.
While Shops serving customers defaulting on CAB will be fined Rs 1,000, with repeated defaults punishable by closure until the end of notification of COVID-19 as a disaster.
Restaurants and bars will remain closed for in-dining, with only home delivery to be allowed—no visiting should be allowed for ordering purposes or pickup. Restaurants and bars inside hotels may be open only for in-house guests.
Local authorities are advised to study locations of food shops where there could be dense populations and plan out staggering of locations in terms of period of operations, identifying open public spaces for shifting of operations in the case of non-permanent structures.
All shop owners are advised to get their employees vaccinated against COVID-19 as per the government’s criteria.
Marriages will be allowed with up to 25 people only, with all staff at the hall to be vaccinated and until completely vaccinated to carry a valid negative COVID-19 test certificate. Funerals will be allowed a maximum of 20 people.
Cooperative Housing Societies with more than 5 active coronavirus positive cases will be treated as a micro containment zone, with a board at the gate.
Construction activity will be allowed only for sites where labourers live on site.
When will the Janta Curfew end?
The rules will remain in force until May 1, 2021, 7 am.
---With inputs from PTI
