Uddhav Thackeray wants to get rid of Covid-19 by the start of monsoon

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday set an ambitious target of overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic by the time the monsoon starts.

“We want to get rid of this calamity by the beginning of monsoon,” he said in a video address

Maharashtra with a tally of over 35,000 Covid-19 cases is the state with the highest numbers in India.

But Thackeray claimed that the government has managed to slow down the spread of the disease.

“We have slowed down the spread of Covid-19. Now we can lift the restriction step by step,” he said.

He ruled out relaxing restrictions in red zones during the fourth phase of the lockdown to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic and that he was willing to face flak for it.

“I am willing to face criticism but it would not be feasible to lift lockdown at this stage. We know what happened in the US and Europe.”

Maharashtra had announced extending the lockdown till May 31 hours before the Centre made the announcement on Sunday.

Thackeray, who took oath as a legislator earlier in the day, also said that 50,000 industrial units have resumed operations.

Amid the continuing migration of stranded workers from Maharashtra, he appealed to migrant labourers not to travel on foot.

“We have facilitated the return of five lakh migrants to their home states,” he said in his address.