THANE: BJP vice president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe on Saturday dubbed "arbitrary and safe play" the decision to re-impose lockdowns in some municipal corporations in Maharashtra.
In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the Rajya Sabha MP stated re-imposition of shutdown within days of announcing 'Mission Begin Again or Unlock 2' smacks of utter confusion at various levels of administration.
Shutdown is either implemented or being extended for varying periods in municipal corporations of Panvel, Thane, Kalyan Dombivali and Mira Bhayandar, all parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), and in Pune in view of rising number of COVID-19 cases.
"There has been a complete or partial lockdown-like situation in Maharashtra as in most states for over three months.
This has caused serious damage to commercial activities, industrial production as well as to many professional service providers and others," he stated.
Not only traders and shopkeepers, but many other professionals, industrialists, entrepreneurs and common citizens are also inconvenienced due to this ad hock-ism and inconsistency, Sahasrabuddhe stated.
He proposed a five-point formulae based on the principle of "Back to Routine, with Caution and Discipline".
"All kinds of shops should be allowed to operate as per routine in order to avoid crowding in limited hours.
For big shops, where customers enter the shop, strict adherence to the rules of personal distancing masks and hand-wash be followed," he said.
Since open air plays an important role in preventing the coronavirus spread, public gardens, temples and open gyms should be allowed to operate with strict adherence to social distancing norms, the BJP MP demanded.