MP suspends all bus services to and from Maharashtra from March 20 amid rising number of COVID-19 cases

The Madhya Pradesh state transport authority announced on Thursday that it is temporarily suspending bus services with Maharashtra, which has been badly hit by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. The temporary suspension of inter-state bus service will come into effect from March 20 and will remain in place till March 31.

The decision was taken by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan during a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation with municipal commissioners and district collectors, an official said.

The government has already directed officials in border districts of the state to place passengers coming from Maharashtra in a week-long quarantine. During the review meeting, the chief minister also directed officials to make arrangements for administering Covid-19 vaccines to 5 lakh people per day.

“The infection is spreading again but we can’t ban economic activities,” Chouhan said. “Precautions are the best way to contain the spread.”

Markets and business establishments in the districts which are affected most due to the pandemic, including Gwalior, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Sagar, Betul, Burhanpur, Khargone, Ratlam and Chhindwara, will remain closed from 10 PM to 6 AM, it was decided during the meeting.

Madhya Pradesh on Thursday reported 917 coronavirus positive cases, taking its tally to 2,71,957 while with one more death, the toll rose to 3,894.

While maintaining that a large number of labourers will return to their ancestral villages and towns in Madhya Pradesh due to Holi, the CM instructed to arrange adequate employment under MNREGA and other schemes for them. He added that adequate employment opportunities should be created in the villages so that the labourers are not forced to go to the infected cities.