Chamber of Associations of Maharashtra Industry and Trade (CAMIT) in its letter sent to Chief Minister, Uddhav Thackeray has requested to extend the lockdown period in the State.
Dipen Agrawal said that CAMIT appreciates State governments’ timely actions, administrations continuous vigil and minute to minute monitoring of the situation in the state, proactively responding to the inputs and passing directions from time to time to contain the spreading of the virus. This has resulted in preventing our State from entering in 3rd phase of pandemic. It is because of the foresight of our CM that Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur were the few cities where lockdown was first imposed in the country, he added.
Agrawal said that CAMIT’s state-level executive body is working in-tandem with trade associations, NGO’s and administration at local level to serve the most vulnerable in the society and the migrant workers stranded at various locations in the state due to national lockdown imposed to contain spreading of Corona Virus. Member traders, particularly from Mumbai, Nagpur, Amravati, Pune, Kolhapur, Solapur, Sangli, are doing the best possible with their limited resources in serving the persons at the bottom of the pyramid.
They are providing cooked food, kits of ration & other essential goods as well. They are also providing necessary protective kits to medical, paramedical and police personals. He expressed satisfaction that traders believing in “citizen first – businessman secondary” are maintaining the supply of essential commodities, without indulging in profiteering and extending their helping hand to society during this never before the global crisis.
Informing Uddhav Thackeray about the gratuitous services being rendered by trading community of the state in coordination with administration in bringing down the misery of common man during this hard times upraised him with the general feeling at ground level. Daily new Covid-19 positive cases are reported in one city or other of the State. There is general perception that relaxing lockdown without their being intensive testing will result out-break of epidemic. Agrawal further said that even Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court taking note of ICMR advisory has recently directed Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to consider undertaking rapid antibody-based blood test. Government should consider the health risk of traders and their staff before lifting lockdown he added.
Dipen Agrawal informed that CAMIT has requested CM to firstly extend the lockdown period in the state presently for 2 weeks minimum starting from 00.00 Hours of 15th April 2020; secondly undertake intensive testing at least in all identified hot-spots in the State and thirdly take cognisance of the hardship faced by trading community and the pains they will face in reviving their operations post lockdown period announce support and relief after prior consultation with all stake holders. In present line of events for any man of reasonable prudence, life of people will be of utmost importance than that of any adverse impact on economy and government should first do the needful to save lives, he added.
On behalf of the trading community of state Dipen Agrawal has expressed his gratitude towards the medical, para-medical, sanitisation, police and other essential services personals and dealers of essential commodities, state government and administrative officers for tirelessly working round the clock to bring smiles on the face of one and all.
