AMN/ MUMBAI
A day after the Maharashtra government said shops selling non-essential commodities, including liquor, will be allowed to open from Monday in the COVID-19 non-containment zones across state, five districts in the state have decided not to permit liquor sale.
Administrations of Solapur, Aurangabad, Jalna, Buldana and Amravati districts have issued instructions that liquor shops will not be allowed to open. The number of COVID-19 patients in state grew to 12,974 with 678 new cases.
Of the total 441 positive cases in Mumbai in last 24 hours, Dharavi slum sprawl alone has reported 94. More from our Mumbai correspondent:
Reacting to the state government move, collector from one of districts said the decision has been taken in adherence to the Disaster Management Act, and to prevent any further spread of the coronavirus infection.
While the Buldana and Amravati administrations have decided to continue with prohibition on liquor sale till May, the Aurangabad district administration has said the several liquor manufacturing and bottling units located in Aurangabad can resume production, but sale of the same is prohibited.
The Nagpur civic body too has decided not to allow liquor sale in the city municipal limits. Meanwhile, the Central Public Health teams deployed to assist the state health departments in COVID-19 management is yet to arrive in Maharashtra.
The teams have been deployed in three covid hotspots, Mumbai, Pune and Thane districts. When contacted, one of the team members told AIR they would soon be arriving in state and refused to divulge more information.
Multiplex Association of India (MAI) has appealed to studio partners, producers, artistes and content creators to support the cinema exhibition sector by holding their films and releasing them in theatres once they are opened again.
Since early today morning, migrant labourers were seen queuing various government hospitals and clinics across state seeking mandatory medical fitness certificate to travel to their home states.