Time to reopen Delhi, says CM Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday declared that time was ripe to re-open the national capital, stating during a video message that he was holding discussions with the central government to device a plan which would allow the life in the national capital to limp back to normal.
"Obviously, there is going to be a risk of infections. But, we have been able to develop an infrastructure which would allow us to deal with a spike in cases, if they emerge," said Kejriwal.
The Delhi CM said that the state authorities were contemplating an arrangement, as part of which they could allow market places to open every second day, to begin with. "It is about time that we start bringing the business activity back to normal," said Kejriwal.
Spelling out the list of guidelines that would be followed by the Delhi government, Kejriwal stressed that the local authorities were following in the footsteps of the central government. A major announcement made by Kejriwal was regarding the re-opening of private offices, which he said would be allowed to operate with 33 per cent staff.
Kejriwal said that people would be allowed to venture out of their homes between 7 am and 7 pm, with only people going out to buy essential items and those with genuine medical emergency permitted after 7 PM.
The government offices involved in essential services will be allowed to operate with 100 per cent staff, while those involved in non-essential services will be allowed to have 33 per cent of their staff in attendance, he said.
The CM announced that self-employed persons, including plumbers, electricians and housemaids among others, will be allowed to travel to their workplaces from Monday.
Detailing about the public transport in place, Kejriwal said that neither metro services nor the buses will be allowed to ply on roads for now. Auto-rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, cab aggregators and taxis will not be allowed to operate, said Kejriwal.
While private vehicles will be allowed to operate on the roads, they won't be permitted to have more than two persons, including the driver.
Also read: Standalone shops, including those selling non-essential items, to re-open in Delhi
