Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday held a meeting at Varsha Bungalow - the official residence of the CM - to discuss the way forward.
The meeting came hours after the Narendra Modi government announced guidelines for lockdown 5.0 which will begin from June 1. The nationwide lockdown has been extended till June 30 in containment zone.
Pawar and Thackeray have met multiple times to discuss the government strategy regarding the lockdown. The meeting on Saturday was the fourth meeting between the two leaders in recent weeks which lasted for about 40 minutes to discuss the ease in lockdown restrictions, especially in red zones like Mumbai and Pune, in view of the increasing COVID-19 cases.
It is known that Sharad Pawar has been in favour of ending restrictions and gradually reopening economy in Maharashtra along with road transport. However, the Chief Minister wants to remain cautious in his approach towards easing lockdown restrictions.
On Friday, the Chief Minister hinted that he was not in favour of lifting lockdown restrictions as COVID-19 could rise in hotspot regions of Mumbai Metropolitan (MMR), Pune and others.
According to sources, the industries might be allowed to operate in Mumbai and Pune but outside containment zones. However, Maharashtra is yet to release its revised guidelines for lockdown 5.0 which is likely to be issued today.
The Union Home Ministry has said that in areas other than containment zones the lockdown restrictions will be eased under ‘unlock 1.0’ which aims to reopen the economy. All activities that were not allowed earlier will be operational in areas outside COVID-19 containment zones and this will be done in a phased manner, it said.
The first phase of 'unlock 1.0' will be initiated from June 8 allowing religious places and hotels, restaurants and shopping malls to operate. However, the Maharashtra government is yet to issue guidelines for the same.
Also Read - Uddhav Thackeray In Favour Of Running Special Local Trains For Essential Workers
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