The ministry of home affairs has announced a detailed guideline for Unlock 5, or for reopening to be effective from October 1, shortly. Despite a steep rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country, the home ministry has made it clear that there would be more relaxations and fewer restrictions, though local administrations in some states are heavily relying on voluntary curfew, local lockdowns etc.
Here are the guidelines:
* Cinemas/ theatres/ multiplexes will be permitted to open with upto 50% of their seating capacity, for which, SOP will be issued by Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
* Business to Business (B2B) Exhibitions will be permitted to open, for which, SOP will be issued by the Department of Commerce.
* Swimming pools being used for training of sportspersons will be permitted to open, for which the standard operating procedure (SOP) will be issued by Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (MoYA&S).
* Entertainment parks and similar places will be permitted to open, for which the SOP will be issued by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW).
Opening of Schools, colleges, education institutions and coaching institutions
* For re-opening of schools and coaching institutions, State/ UT Governments have been given the flexibility to take a decision after October 15, 2020, in a graded manner. The decision shall be taken in consultation with the respective school/ institution management, based on their assessment of the situation, and subject to the following conditions:
* Online/ distance learning shall continue to be the preferred mode of teaching and shall be encouraged.
* Where schools are conducting online classes, and some students prefer to attend online classes rather than physically attend school, they may be permitted to do so.
* Students may attend schools/ institutions only with the written consent of parents.
* Attendance must not be enforced, and must depend entirely on parental consent.
* States /UTs will prepare their own SOP regarding health and safety precautions for reopening of schools/ institutions based on the SOP to be issued by Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education, Government of India, keeping local requirements in view.
* Schools, which are allowed to open, will have to mandatorily follow the SOP to be issued by Education Departments of States/ UTs.
* Department of Higher Education (DHE), Ministry of Education may take a decision on the timing of the opening of Colleges/ Higher Education Institutions, in consultation with Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), based on the assessment of the situation. Online/ distance learning shall continue to be the preferred mode of teaching and shall be encouraged.
Unlock 5.0 is likely to become the most crucial as a number of religious festivals are scheduled in October, including Durga Puja. The first phase of Bihar Assembly Election 2020 is scheduled on October 28. The Centre is likely to revise its order pertaining to the maximum number of people who can gather at a place.
The phase-wise unlocking began in June with only a few essential activities beginning outside the containment zones. Over the last four months, offices, public transport including metro, domestic flights, religious places, restaurants, hotels, gyms, schools and colleges have been allowed to resume activities, though the state governments concerned are the final authorities.
Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have extended lockdown till October 31.
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Bhopal, Mar 28: Nakul Nath, the lone Congress MP from Madhya Pradesh who has been renominated from Chhindwara by his party, has declared assets worth nearly Rs 700 crore, according to his election affidavit.
Nath is among the 113 candidates who have filed their nomination papers for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in the central state on April 19. The filing of nomination papers for this phase drew to a close on Wednesday.
As per his affidavit, Nakul Nath's wealth has gone up by Rs 40 crore in the past five years.
In his latest submission to the Election Commission, Nakul Nath has declared movable property, including cash, shares and bonds, worth Rs 649.51 crore and Rs 48.07 crore of immovable property.
The sitting Chhindwara MP, son of former chief minister and influential Congress leader Kamal Nath, had topped the list of 475 Lok Sabha crorepati members in 2019, according to the non-profit Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR).
According to ADR, the entrepreneur politician had declared assets worth Rs 660 crore in 2019 when he contested from Chhindwara, the pocket borough of his father, and emerged as the only Congress winner in the state.
That year, the BJP had won 28 of the 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh.
Kamal Nath, who successfully contested from Chhindwara, had declared assets worth Rs 134 crore in his poll affidavit ahead of last year's assembly elections, according to ADR.
Notably, Nakul Nath frequently uses an aircraft but does not have a car, according to his affidavit.
To breach the citadel of the Naths, the BJP is raking up Kamal Nath's flying machines to script a narrative of wealthy-versus-commoner after pitting its candidate Vivek Sahu against Nakul Nath.
The Congress has been on a winning streak from the Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat since 1952, it has lost just once to the BJP. Kamal Nath had won this seat for a record nine times.
"A big Congress leader. A very big leader... keeps two, not one, helicopters at his house. When he returns, he lands the chopper right inside his home. He had been an MP chief minister," Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had said at an election rally in Sidhi recently.
Yadav said his government had decided that there would be a helicopter but the poor will have access to it. "To rush poor people to hospitals for urgent treatment," Yadav had said, seeking to shed light on the state's recently launched air ambulance service for citizens during medical emergencies.
BJP candidate Sahu has also attacked the former CM over his helicopter use during public outreaches. According to locals, Nath has two helipads at his residence in the Shikrapur area of Chhindwara.