MHA writes letter to West Bengal government over lockdown violations, constitutes teams to assess situation

Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has written a letter to West Bengal Chief Secretary regarding lockdown violation and incidents of violence against healthcare workers in some districts of the state, including Howrah, Kolkata, Mednipur, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and others. 

The MHA said in its letter that it has constituted two Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCT) which will visit these districts to make an on the spot assessment of the situation. The IMCT will also issue necesaary directions to the state government for effective redressal of the situation. The IMCT will also submit a report to the MHA after the conclusion of the assessment of the situation in the above mentioned districts of West Bengal.

In a related development, a notification has been issued by the West Bengal Health Department ordering all “frontline medical personnel in government hospitals” to “stay in their headquarters and not commute daily” to their residences.

Earlier, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had ordered a “seven-day shift system” of the medical professionals so as to “enable them to rest and recuperate” for a week after discharging their duties for seven days.

Meanwhile, the MHA has also taken strong onbjection to the Kerala government's decision to open restaurants, bus travel for shorter distances, allow private vehicles on an odd-even during the lockdown and has accused the Pinarayi Vijayan government of “diluting” the Centre's guidelines. 

The MHA has written a letter to the Kerala government, saying the state government on April 17 “has circulated revised guidelines for lockdown measures which allowed opening of activities which are prohibited in the Centre's consolidated revised guidelines issued on April 15”.

“Such additional activities allowed by the government of Kerala, include opening of local workshops, barber shops, restaurants, book stores, MSMEs in municipal limits, bus travel in cities and towns for shorter distance, two passengers in the back seat of four wheeler and pillion riding on scooters,” added the letter.