Unlock 1.0 begins in Jharkhand with increase in number of vehicles on roads

No E-pass required now for intra-district commute, e-pass still mandatory for inter-district and inter-state travel

Jamshedpur: Unlock 1.0 has begun in the entire state with quite a few relaxations for the people needing to commute. As a result, the number of vehicles plying on the roads in the city have ostensibly increased compared to the last week.

Policemen are still carrying out checks at different check-posts within the city. However, their stance seems a lot more relaxed and open.

The Swasthya Suraksha Saptah has been extended by one week till June 10 in the meeting of the Disaster Management Authority held on June 1 under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister Hemant Soren. However, a number of rules were relaxed in the meeting for the next one week.

As per the government decision, the requirement for e-pass within the district has been done away with. However, e-pass would remain mandatory for inter-state and inter-district commute using private vehicles.

All shops, barring garment, cosmetic, jewellery and shoes, have been allowed to open till 2 p.m. in most pandemic-hit districts, like Bokaro, East Singhbhum, Deoghar, Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Garhwa, Gumla and Ramgarh.

For other 15 districts, all shops have been allowed to open till 2 p.m.

Earlier, the Chief Minister Hemant Soren had sought suggestions from the people of the state on Twitter regarding Unlock 1. The decisions of the Disaster Management Authority were taken after taking the suggestions of the people into account.

He said that, with the support of the people of Jharkhand during Health Safety Week, the state has contained the second wave of COVID-19. In this struggle for life and livelihood, now the focus is on livelihood. He seeked suggestions regarding how the process of unlocking should be initiated. Within minutes of the announcement , the responses from people started to pour in.

Last week, right before the meeting with the Union Defence Minister, Union Cabinet Minister of Education and the Chief Ministers of other states, regarding the conduct of the CBSE Board Examination, the Chief Minister sought the opinion of students and parents. He wanted to know whether the examination should be conducted during this Covid-19 phase or not. There were a lot of responses from the people. Based on that, the Chief Minister put his points during the meeting.