With the COVID-19 curve showing no signs of easing in Uttar Pradesh, the Allahabad High court on Monday ordered a lockdown in five cities till April 26 and castigated the state government for the “present chaotic health problems”.
Noting that the surge in cases under the second wave of the infections has virtually paralysed all the medical infrastructure of Uttar Pradesh, the High Court ordered the lockdown in Prayagraj, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur and Gorakhpur.
“Those in the helm of affairs of governance are to be blamed for the present chaotic health problems,” the HC said as it imposed the restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus in the state.
The Court observed that though putting lockdown to public activities was a matter, purely in the nature of policy decision by the concerned government, the court had to step in since the UP government had not yet chalked out any concrete plan to tackle the situation.
On Sunday, UP registered the highest single-day rise in Covid cases (30,596) as well as fatality count, with the disease claiming 129 more lives.
Surjitt Sahani
