At a time when majority of the states in the country, including Andhra Pradesh, have gone in for imposition of lockdown or curfew in one form or the other to curtail the spread of Coronavirus, the Telangana government led by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is still dodging a decision on the same despite the suggestions from the state high court.
According to sources, the Telangana government wants to wait for the decision of the Centre in imposing lockdown in the country, since it feels the situation has been under control at present.
“The Centre has been trying to throw up its hands and leave it to the states to impose lockdown or curfew, because it doesn’t want to take the responsibility for the loss of economy. If the Centre itself has to decide on the lockdown, it will have to offset the loss caused to the states,” sources said.
So, KCR has asked the officials to focus more on improving the situation through various other methods, rather than going in for lockdown.
“If the Centre itself takes a decision, then the Telangana has to follow. Then, the onus of helping the state financially will be on the Centre,” the sources said.
Chief secretary Somesh Kumar, who held a high-level review meeting at the secretariat following instructions from the chief minister on Wednesday, told reporters that there was nothing to panic, as the situation was control.
He said here was a clear indication of new cases reducing on a daily basis in Telangana. For the last 10 days, the epidemic curve is clearly flattening with obvious signs that cases were coming down he said.
Somesh Kumar said there was no immediate need to impose any lockdown in the state as the government has to take into consideration the livelihood of financially weaker sections of the society before deciding to impose lockdowns.
“If people take proper Covid precautions and the healthcare system of the State is able to reach out and provide medical facilities at the right time, there is no need to consider weekend or total lockdowns. There are many studies that have clearly said that lockdowns are not a solution. At present and even in future, this is the firm opinion of the State Government,” Somesh Kumar said.