The lockdown imposed in some cities across Madhya Pradesh has been extended, as per a decision taken by the Crisis Management team the lockdown in Bhopal, Indore and Ujjain cities has been extended till April 30.
Only essential services will be exempted from the corona curfew and people arriving in the city or leaving by rail, bus etc will not be inconvenienced. The state government has also decided to book black marketers of essential drugs under National Security Act (NSA).
Making the announcement chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that effective implementation of Janata curfew is necessary in every city, street-locality, villages to break the chain of corona infection.
However, an old video of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is being shared amid the rising number of COVID cases in the country to claim that the state government had decided to completely seal Indore and Bhopal.
On searching the keyword ‘MP Government Seals off Indore, Bhopal’ on Google, no such recent result was found. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh on Saturday recorded its highest single-day spike of 11,269 COVID-19 cases taking its tally to 3,95,832, while the day also saw 66 deaths and 6,497 people getting discharged, an official said. The toll in MP stands at 4,491 and the recovery count is 3,27,452, leaving it with an active caseload of 63,889, he added.
The reverse image search directed to a news bulletin uploaded by ABP News on 9 April 2020, which carried the viral clip. In 2020, the Madhya Pradesh government had completely sealed off Bhopal, Indore and Ujjain in view of the surge in coronavirus cases in the three cities. “The district administration should ensure the supply of essential commodities in these areas. No person will be able to go in and out of these areas. Services of all government departments and their resources should be taken in coronavirus related work,” Chouhan said in a statement in 2020 regarding the sealing of the three cities. The infected areas in other districts of the state were completely sealed. The state also made it compulsory for people to wear masks while stepping out of the house. Chouhan said that every person should come out of the house wearing a mask to avoid infection.
Again, almost after a year, when the cases are rising again the government is taking strict actions against those who defy the rules. But, Madhya Pradesh did not seal Indore and Bhopal this year.
