Uttar Pradesh govt declares lockdown in 16 districts

Uttar Pradesh government has declared lockdown in 16 districts of the state till Wednesday due to rising coronavirus cases. The districts where the lockdown has been enforced in the first phase are Lucknow, Agra, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad, Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Aligarh, Moradabad, Lakhimpur Kheiri, Bareilly, Azamgarh, Meerut, Gorakhpur, Saharanpur and Pilibhit.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath appealed people to stay indoors and  avoid unnecessary gathering at public places. Barring essential services, all government offices, educational institutes, autonomous bodies, business establishments, private offices, malls, shops, factories, godowns and public transport will remain closed in these districts.

The services that have been



declared as essential are medical, health and family welfare, medical education, home, intelligence/prison administration, police/armed force and para-military forces, personnel department and district administration, energy, urban development, food and civil supplies, disaster relief, fire services, civil defence, information, emergency services, telephone, internet, network services and IT-enabled services.

Postal services, banks, ATMs, insurance companies, e-commerce, print, electronic and social media, petrol pumps, LPG gas, oil agencies, medicines shops, medical equipment shops and medicine producing units, units related to agriculture production and animal fodder too have been classified as essential services.