The Union government has issued a circular to the Chief Secretaries of all the States, informing them that there shall be no restrictions on inter-state and intra-state travel of people and goods.
In a letter, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said, “No separate permission/approval/e-permit will be required for such movements. It has been reported that the restrictions on movement are being imposed by various district/states. Such restrictions are creating problems in inter-state movement of goods and services and are impacting the supply chain, resulting in disruption of economic activities.”
“The idea is to ensure that both health and economy are not ignored. We need to ensure that economic activity also continues without being careless about health of the common people from Corona. So we will strike a balance between both health protocols and economic activities and come out with some sort of norms,” a senior
official of the Home Ministry said.
Officials claimed it was observed that these ‘local lockdowns’ being imposed by States and the district administration was affecting the movement of goods and trucks of even essential commodities and this in turn was impacting the supply chain.
People, unlike how they were in March when the lockdown was imposed across the nation, are now well aware of coronavirus and how it spreads. Majority of them take adequate precautionary measures. Now, it is time to focus on giving life to economy, which is hit hard by the lockdown. So, it is essential to remove restrictions and spread awareness on Covid-19. It is being anticipated that in the coming days all States, including Tamilnadu, would adhere to Centre’s instructions and remove restrictions including e-pass system.