Dissent in BJP over Indore curfew extension? Vijayvargiya tweets against norms tightening
INDORE: A day after 'janta curfew' in Indore in Madhya Pradesh was tightened by eight days as a "last attack on the viral infection", senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya in a tweet on Friday asked if such a move was needed in a "disciplined city".
"What was the need to thrust upon an undemocratic and dictatorial decision on a disciplined city like Indore? The decision which is being widely condemned should be reviewed taking on board administration and public representatives," Vijayvargiya tweeted.
Explaining the move to reporters, collector Manish Singh said, "Cases of coronavirus are on the decline. The tightening of curfew was the last attack on the viral infection. Hopefully, this would bring about more improvement and open up business activities from June 1 slowly and gradually."
CM Chouhan, while addressing crisis management groups here online on Thursday, had said the aim was to enforce corona curfew in the state till May 31 "to clear the way for restoring normal life slowly and gradually."
Meanwhile, authorities, quoting an official order, said wholesale and retail grocery stores will remain closed along with fruit and vegetable outlets till May 28, while companies would home deliver groceries from 6 am to 5 pm during this period.
Indore has an active caseload of 10,577, the highest for any district in the state.
It added 937 cases in the last 24 hours and witnessed eight deaths from the infection.
Madhya Pradesh on Friday reported 4,384 new coronavirus cases and 79 fatalities that raised the tally of infections to 7,57,119 and the toll to 7,394, an official from the state health department said.
The recoveries outnumbered the fresh infections, bringing the count of active cases below the 70,000-mark to 67,625.
With the addition of 9,405 patients discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, the count of recoveries in the state has reached 6,82,100, the official said.
Indore's caseload went up to 1,43,609, after 937 persons tested positive for the infection, while Bhopal's tally rose by 609 to 1,16,481, he said.
With 11 deaths in the day, Bhopal's count of fatalities went up to 895 and eight casualties took Indore's toll to 1,294, he said.
Indore is now left with 10,577 active cases, while Bhopal has 10,339 patients undergoing treatment, the official added.
As per the health department's release, 78,268 swab samples were tested during the day, taking the total number of tests conducted in the state to 91,48,503.
Madhya Pradesh has recorded 1,93,792 cases and 1,778 fatalities so far this month, it was stated.
Coronavirus figures in MP are as follows: Total cases 7,57,119, new cases 4,384, death toll 7,394, recovered 6,82,100, active cases 67,625, number of tests so far 91,48,503.