Lockdown needs stricter enforcement in 40 of 75 districts: UP govt's note to DMs, SPs

By Rana Ajit

New Delhi, Apr 20 (): A recent assessment by the Uttar Pradesh government termed the state of the lockdown "unsatisfactory" in 40 of the 75 districts and called for stricter enforcement there of the restrictions to fight coronavirus.

The districts in the "unsatisfactory" category include capital Lucknow, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Allahabad, Varanasi and Kanpur.

Sources said Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi sent the assessment to district magistrates and police chiefs of all 75 districts in the state on April 18, two days before the planned implementation of a set of relaxations in the nationwide lockdown.

An annexure listed all districts, describing the lockdown there as "unsatisfactory" or "satisfactory".

The table also carried remarks, giving an indication of the reasons why a district got the "unsatisfactory" rating.

These included the number of COVID-19 patients in the district, law and order violations, lack of coordination between different agencies and the detection Tablighi Jamaat members who might have spread the virus after their congregation in Delhi .

"Satisfactory" districts in eastern Uttar Pradesh included Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's stronghold Gorakhpur, Ballia, Deoria and Maharajganj.

"In this list, the lockdown situation in many districts of the state has been described as unsatisfactory, which makes it clear that the lockdown is not being enforced strictly in those districts," Awasthi's letter said.

It called for "stricter enforcement" of the lockdown on the basis of the remarks made in the list.

The 35 districts where lockdown and slowing down of COVID-19 spread have been found satisfactory include Aligarh, Etah, Hathras, Kasganj, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur and Hardoi.

Lucknow is in the "unsatisfactory" category. Remarks mention a large number of COVID-19 patients (93 when the assessment was made) and Jamaat participants (159).

The letter also said there was lack of coordination in policing there.

In Gautam Buddh Nagar, it mentioned 67 confirmed cases, 82 Jamaatis, lack of coordination in policing and the suicide by a suspected coronavirus patient.

In "unsatisfactory" Agra, there was lack of coordination between the principal and doctors at the S N Medical College. When the note was prepared, 152 people had tested positive for coronavirus there and 60 Tablighi Jamaat members were detected.

In Mathura, the list flagged an agitation by migrant labourers staying at a cold storage facility. RAX ASHASH