Bhubaneswar: With the ongoing partial lockdown ending at 6 am on Friday, the Odisha government announced some more relaxations in the restrictions for the next two weeks, till 6 am on August 1.
The state has been under lockdown since May 5 to break the COVID infection chain.
The twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, which has been reporting high infection rate and new cases and are in the B-category districts, was not expecting much ease in the curbs. However, the government has extended the opening time for shops in these cities till 5 pm, following which night curfew will be imposed till 6 am the following morning.
The government has also relented to the demands of gym, beauty parlour and spa owners and allowed them to resume work with strict adherence to COVID guidelines. Outdoor and indoor shootings for film and TV serials will also be allowed in these cities. Outdoor sports activities have also been allowed. Sports events can be conducted but without spectators.
The curbs on the movement of the city and intra-state buses have also been lifted. Buses will be allowed to pick up passengers up to seating capacity only. Taxis and autos can carry a maximum of two persons apart from the driver.
ACTIVITIES ALLOWED
- All shops (except shopping mall), transport of goods, industrial activities, construction activities
- Bus Services
- Hospitals, clinics, medicine stores and diagnostics centres. All healthcare services including AYUSH to remain functional
- Veterinary hospitals, dispensaries, clinics, pathology labs, sale and supply of vaccine and medicines
- Indoor/outdoor shooting for films in category-A and B districts
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and its regulated financial markets and entities like NPCI, CCIL and payment system operators
- All bank branches, banking and ATM services
- Movement of all medical and veterinary personnel by air to other states
- Railway, airports, seaports to continue operation as per Centre’s guidelines
Postal services - Movements allowed for COVID testing and vaccination
- Agriculture, fisheries and animal husbandry
- Government and private offices will run with 50% employees capacity
- Home delivery by operators/online delivery of all goods/services by e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Blue Dart, Big Basket, Zomato, Swiggy, KFC, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Uber Eats etc.
- Retailers of food and grocery items such as Big Bazaar, Reliance Fresh, OMFED, OPOLFED, Chilika Fresh, Spencers etc. They are also allowed to provide home delivery services
- Print, Electronic and web media (members of media houses may have to produce authorisation from their appropriate authorities specifically showing their areas of movement)
- IT and IT-enabled services with a maximum of 50% staff
- Data and Call centres with bare minimum staff
- Telecommunications, internet services, broadcasting, cable services/DTH and optical fibre
- Petrol pumps, LPG, petroleum and gas retail and storage outlets with home delivery
- Power Generation, transmission and distribution units and services
- Government-approved common service centres at Gram Panchayat level
- Cold storage and warehousing services including ports, airports, railway stations, container depots, individual units and other links in the logistic chains
- Private security services and facilities management services for maintenance and upkeep of office and residential complexes
- Hotels, homestays, lodges and motels, which are accommodating tourists and persons stranded due to lockdown, medical and emergency staff, air and sea crew
- Services provided by self-employed persons i.e electrician, IT repairs, plumbers, motor mechanics and carpenters etc
- Shops that repair and service electrical and electronic appliances including fans, air coolers, water purifiers, ACs, mobile phones, computers and accessories etc
- Milk booths dealing in milk products and bread are allowed to operate within the stipulated time period.
- Restaurants and dhabas for home delivery and take away services only
- All Aahaar centres for take away service only
- OLA and Uber services
- Outdoor sports activities
Bars, however, will continue to remain closed while restaurants will be allowed takeaways only.
The weekend shutdown will continue in these cities. Educational institutions, shopping malls, parks, swimming pools and cinema halls will remain closed. No permission has been given for exhibitions, jatras and melas. The cap on weddings (25) and funerals (20) will continue as before.
