Hyderabad: The state will be under a lockdown till May 29 but with several relaxations, the Cabinet decided at a meeting chaired by chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Tuesday.
This is irrespective of the decision the Centre will take regarding the national lockdown that ends on May 17. Shops including liquor outlets would be opened from Wednesday.
The chief minister while briefing the media on the Cabinet decisions at Pragathi Bhavan said, “The situation in Hyderabad and its neighbouring districts, Ranga Reddy and Malkajgiri-Medchal, is very serious and there is no way we can take any chances.” No relaxations will be allowed in these three districts.
He announced that the conditions announced by the Centre in its advisory will be implemented without a change in the green and orange zones covering 25 districts. Liquor shops throughout the state except those in the containment zones will be opened on Wednesday. Liquor prices would be hiked by 16 per cent on average and 13 per cent on cheap liquor.
All shops will be allowed to open from Wednesday in the rural areas and 50 per cent of shops in municipal towns. Shopkeepers in municipal areas will get to open their shops on alternate days which will be decided by a lottery system. Draws will be held on Wednesday.
Real estate and construction activity will commence and stamps and registration offices will start functioning from Wednesday. Shops selling steel, iron, hardware and electricals will also open. He said relaxations had been announced for farm-related establishments.
The chief minister said RTA offices will open to entertain applications for registration of vehicles and allied activities.
He said a high-level meeting will be held on May 15 to evaluate the relaxations given by the Centre and decide the future course of action. A decision will be taken on resuming RTC services after May 15. Autorickshaws and cab services will be allowed in green zones from Wednesday. Marriage functions will be allowed with a gathering of 20 people and funerals with 10. No religious gatherings will be allowed until May 29. He apologised to the Muslim community as the government was not able to allow congregational prayers during Ramzan, including the Id-ul-Fitr prayers.
