Bihar Seeks To Keep Rural Constructions Out Of Lockdown Extension

The Bihar government has no objection to extension of the lockdown over COVID-19, but wants the centre to allow construction work in rural areas, sources have said. In a letter to the centre, the government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said it wants to ensure construction work under the job scheme MGNREGA and pending flood relief projects continue as soon as possible, the sources said.

The centre has sought opinion from all the states over extending the lockdown as more and more case of COVID-19 continue to be reported. The highly infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus has killed 199 people in the country, with 33 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of patients to 6,412 on Friday.

Bihar has reported 60 COVID-19 cases, and nearly a third or 23 of them are from a single family in Siwan district, 130 km from state capital Patna.

The state's request to allow construction work in rural areas comes amid worsening condition of businesses, especially those dealing with perishable items. At a wholesale vegetable market in Patna, the traders of onion and potato - two kitchen staple - said they usually get Rs 20 per kg at this time of the year, but they are selling for losses as much as Rs 15-16 per kg.

"There are no customers," a trader told NDTV.

"All businesses have shut down. No one is coming to lift the stocks from here. The stocks are not going out to other districts like Samastipur, Purnia... There is no demand," another trader told NDTV, highlighting that there are enough stocks of the kitchen staple but no customers.

Amid rise in the number of coronavirus cases, Bihar has sealed borders of two other districts, apart from Siwan, which have recorded the highest number of cases across the state - Begusarai and Nawada.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the nation again to announce his decision on whether the coronavirus lockdown will end on Tuesday. Before the decision, he will meet with Chief Ministers via video conference tomorrow.