Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his alliance partner and NCP president Sharad Pawar held a discussion on Saturday (May 30) night, at Varsha, the official residence of the state CM at Malabar Hill. The two leaders reportedly sat with each other for almost one-and-a-half hours and discussed the way ahead for Maharashtra, with special focus on red zone Mumbai and Pune.
According to reports, Pawar has been insisting on the resumption of economic activities in a phased manner and restarting of road transport within the state. Maharashtra, with over 65,000 coronavirus cases, is the worst-affected state and Mumbai the worst-affected city. He reportedly told the CM Uddhav that the state government should be liberal in reopening shops and other establishments after Sunday (May 31) when the fourth phase of lockdown ends. On the other hand, Uddhav was in favour of a conservation approach
This was the fourth meeting between Uddhav and Pawar in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government on Sunday issued new guidelines on what would be allowed to open in the state from June 1. The centre has already announced that all services and places outside coronavirus containment zones, except a select list including international flights and gyms, can reopen after June 1.
A total of 2,940 new cases and 99 deaths were reported on Saturday in Maharashtra, taking the total to 65,168 and 2,197, respectively. Notably, 91 police personnel also tested positive for COVID-19 in Maharashtra in the last 24 hours alone.
