Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday, 2 April, said that the nationwide lockdown will end on 15 April, soon after he participated in a teleconference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi but deleted the tweet minutes later, blaming it on an officer handling his Twitter account whose comprehension of Hindi was “limited”.
Modi chaired a meeting with the chief ministers of different states to take stock of the situation in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Completion of lockdown will end on 15 April. But it doesn’t mean free will to move out on streets. We all must be responsible in slowing down. Lockdown and social distancing in (sic) the only way to fight #COVID19,” Khandu had tweeted.
He deleted it minutes later and clarified, “The tweet with respect of lockdown period was uploaded by an officer whose comprehension in Hindi was limited. And therefore same was removed."
Speculation was rife that the shutdown might be extended beyond 15 April, especially after the exponential jump in the number of coronavirus cases post the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi.
Khandu also indicated that some restrictions will remain in place. “May not #21daysLockdownIndia go waste. Even after lockdown, follow corona prevention safety measures like wearing mask, cleanliness, distancing etc. Being responsible will save us,” he wrote in another tweet.
Tagging the prime minister, Khandu further said it was time to leverage technology to fight coronavirus and not compete to announce packages.
He said it is a war which cannot be left for health workers, policemen or the government alone to fight and that the situation warrants that people of all different ideologies unite to defeat the enemy of the mankind.
“War has just began (sic) now. We can never be contended (sic). Let us no mistake (sic). Every 24 hours we must be alert; unitedly, we must fight to defeat the outbreak of #COVID19,” Khandu said in another tweet.
He also thanked the prime minister for his “exemplary leadership” in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
As of 3 April, there has been one coronavirus positive case in Arunachal Pradesh.
(The article has been published in arrangement with PTI.)
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