Expressing concern over the high concentration of corona positive persons under the GHMC limits, the Telangana High Court on Friday sought a report from the state government on the measures being initiated in Hyderabad where the number of containment zones is high.
Hearing a batch of petitions filed by various individuals via video-conferencing, the HC directed the Hyderabad police department to exercise restraint in dealing with the general public during the complete lockdown. The court sought a detailed report from DGP Mahender Reddy on the reports of excesses by the police personnel on the people while enforcing the lockdown regulations.
The High Court directed the government to submit by April 24 on the testing facilities and the gamut of measures the government had initiated to contain the spread of the virus in the State, especially in Hyderabad as city has the highest number of containment zones.
A total of 135 containment zones have been demarcated in the city based on positive cases, which have been barricaded to prevent contact between those inside with outsiders.
Health Minister Etela Rajender in a recent press meet attributed the high numbers to the Tablighi Jamaat attendees and their secondary contacts. The health minister said that 640 of 700 so far tested positive for Covid-19 in the state are attendees of Tablighi Jamaat conclave in Delhi and their contacts. Barring 50-60, all others found infected were returnees from Markaz in Nizamuddin, their family members and contacts, he said.
On Friday, IT & MAUD minister directed the ministers and officials concerned to strictly enforce the lockdown regulations in all the corona cluster containment zones. With more than 135 containment zones in Hyderabad limits, KTR seems to leave nothing to chance. With the lockdown entering the second phase, KTR asked the officials to intensify screening in clusters of the virus around the city and put in place restrictions, even harsher than the lockdown, which would stop the virus from spreading beyond containment zones.
K T Rama Rao directed the officials to ensure that not a single individual steps out of their residences and barricade all the colonies in the containment zones so that people stay indoors. Further, he asked the officials to ensure doorstep delivery of essentials such as groceries, milk and vegetables, arguably the biggest reason why people are forced to leave the relative safety of their homes.
