Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday said that the State government will be left with no other option than to impose strict lockdown if people continue to crowd roads and markets defying ‘ break the chain’ guidelines prescribed by the State to control Covid-19 spread.

“The second wave is huge compared to the first one. The State government decided to impose restrictions to control the number of cases. People must cooperate. We had discussions in the State Cabinet about the poor response to the measures taken by the government. With no option left the government will have to impose strict lockdown,” said Pawar speaking to reporters in Pune .

The State government has imposed a “mini lockdown” for 15 days from April 14 evening. According to the guidelines announced by the State government, Section 144 is in place and no one would be allowed to move in public places without a valid reason.

Pawar said that people must follow the rules and cooperate with the State administration to tackle the situation.

He added that the State government has decided to allow members of the legislature to use ₹1 crore out of their ₹4 crore constituency development funds to create Covid-19 related facilities. Pawar said that the State government was taking every possible effort to cater to the demand for medical oxygen and Remdesivir doses.

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