BMC Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi on March 17 has, by way of an order, asked all private firms in the city to function only with 50 per cent capacity adding that people refraining the order will face action under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), this could lead to imprisonment of six months or fine or both. He said, “Only 50 per cent of the staff will report to the office while the rest can work from home.”
The Ward officers of BMC, by visiting companies randomly will ensure the enforcement by visiting companies under their respective jurisdiction to supervise whether the order is being implemented or not. Meanwhile, BMC has also prohibited vehicular traffic movement near the quarantine wards or centres for Corona patients like Seven Hills hospital and Kasturba hospital in Mumbai.
The order comes in the wake of rising positive cases of Coronavirus in the State. Moreover, a 64-year-old man died due to Coronavirus in Mumbai today. The person was hospitalised in Mumbai’s Kasturba hospital. In India, three deaths have been reported so far.
However, the BMC has issued an order under Rule 10 of the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 to exempt certain services such as internet services, banking services, transportation services, hospitals, medical centres and stores.
For the time being, the Maharashtra government has decided to grant Rs. 45 crore each to districts in the wake of the pandemic. Chief Minister, Uddhav Thackeray has allotted Rs. 15 crore to Konkan region, 10 crore to Pune and Rs. 5 crore to Nagpur, Amravati, Nashik and Aurangbad, respectively.
Earlier, Thackeray had issued an advisory notice to all schools, colleges; cinema halls to remain shut till 31 March and postponed all the elections of local bodies for the next three months. Moreover, the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association on Sunday decided to impose a temporary ban on all shootings of films, TV serials and web series from March 19 to March 31.
