Maharashtra announces tighter curbs amid Covid-19 crisis. What's open, what's not

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday announced a 15-day curfew in the state in a bid to bring the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) under control and said that just consultations will no longer help.

Thackeray said tighter restrictions will take a toll on the economy and jobs but urged the residents to follow new rules, adding: "Lives are more important than livelihoods".

India's worst-hit state is also struggling with oxygen shortages, Thackeray said, asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to deploy the air force and send fresh supplies.

"In the last few days, I have interacted with people from all walks of lives, to get consensus. But now discussions will not help. We are facing a shortage of oxygen, beds and an increase in cases has now burdened the health infrastructure," Thackeray said in his address to the citizens.

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The new measures follow Maharashtra's move to impose a state-wide weekend curfew that confined the state's 125 million people to their homes until the end of April unless needed for essential services.

Here's what has been restricted:

• The new restrictions will force all "non-essential" shops, malls and e-commerce deliveries to pause operations from Wednesday until May 1.
• Restrictions have also been imposed on the film industry in the state as shooting for movies, television shows and advertisements in Bollywood will also grind to a halt.
• Bars and restaurants, which were shut earlier this month, will not open and public gatherings of more than five people have been banned.
• No one will be allowed to move in a public place without valid reasons.
• All the establishments, public places, activities, services shall remain closed except essential services.

Also read: Asking PM Modi to allow IAF to supply oxygen for Maharashtra, says Uddhav Thackeray

Here's what's open:

• Hospitals, medical institutions to remain functional
• Groceries, vegetable shops, fruit vendors, dairies, bakeries and all type of food shops will be operational.
• Cold storage and warehousing services to remain open
• Public transport such as airplanes, trains, taxis, autos and public buses will ply during the curfew.
• RBI, offices of SEBI such as stock exchanges, depositories, clearing corporations and other SEBI intermediaries to remain open.
• Transport of goods, water supply, agricultural-related activities, export and import of all commodities have been permitted as essential services.
• E-commerce services for the supply of essential goods and services will be allowed.
• Fuel stations and petroleum-related products, all cargo services will be allowed.
• Data centres, cloud services, IT services backing critical infrastructure and services also fall under essential services and hence will be open.
• Government and private security services, electrical and gas supply services, ATMs, postal services, ports and related activities will be open.