With rains in sight, Maharashtra in two minds about easing curbs

Mumbai: With the monsoon likely to hit the state in early June and with the rising number of cases in rural Maharashtra, the state government is in no mood to relax the lockdown now at least in the red zones, despite the NCP favouring more relaxations.

State government officials said that restrictions on public gatherings and public transport like trains and buses would continue in Mumbai and Pune Metropolitan region till possibly the end of June. The only relaxation the government is thinking of now is for shops and other establishments. Electronic goods shops and auto spare parts shops may be allowed to open, say sources. The Maharashtra government is treading cautiously as the monsoons are to begin from June and Covid-19 cases are likely to increase during this period.

“Not just Covid-19, there is dengue, malaria and leptospirosis. All these ailments spike during the monsoons and there are more patients in civic and state hospitals during this period. So, it is better to relax the lockdown in a phased manner,” a state government official said.


The NCP and a few other sections in the government are in favour of more relaxations with NCP chief Sharad Pawar publicly stating on May 19 that he expected more relaxations when the state government announced the lockdown rules. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has however said that the lockdown cannot be lifted immediately, but would be done in a phased manner.

Maharashtra has close to 40,000 active cases, of which over 26,000 active cases are in Mumbai, resulting overcrowded hospitals where ICU beds, doctors, nurses and ventilators are all in short supply.