Maharashtra govt to hold 'COVID-free village' competition; Rs 50 lakh reward for 1st prize

In a unique initiative to curb COVID-19 surge, the Maharashtra government on Thursday has announced 'Corona-free village competitions'. The state's  Rural Development Minister Hasan Mushrif announced that three village panchayats will be awarded for good COVID management to curb COVID cases. The rewards range from Rs 15 lakhs to Rs 50 lakhs, as announced by Mushrif.

Maharashtra announces 'Corona-free village' competitions

This move comes a day after it was reported that over 9,000 children in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar were tested COVID-19 positive in the month of May. Ahmednagar District Collector Rajendra Bhosale informed, "Till now in Ahmednagar district, around 2,52,979 have tested positive.  In the month of May, minors below the age of 1yr- 85 cases reported, between 1-10 yrs - 2694 tested positive and in the 11-18yrs age group - 6102 have tested positive. In total, 8881 minors have tested positive to covid in Ahmednagar district." Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has warned that the third COVID wave may affect children adversely.

Maharashtra relaxes COVID restrictions

On Sunday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that the state government is extending the restrictions for another two weeks. However, these will be district-wise restrictions and containment strategy and a call for lifting the restrictions will be taken accordingly. The Maharashtra government released a set of guidelines in the wake of lockdown extension in the state, till June 15.

As per the new guidelines, all essential shops that are currently allowed to operate between 7 AM and 11 AM may be allowed to operate between 7 AM and 2 PM. In the case of all non-essential shops (standalone shops inside shopping centers/ malls), the decision regarding the allowing of the opening of such shops along with the time limit for the functioning of the same may be by respective Disaster Management authorities. These, if allowed to open, however, shall not be opened beyond that allowed for essential shops and shall not be allowed to open on weekends.  Delivery of Non-Essential items along with essential items through E-Commerce may be allowed in such districts. All Government offices except those involved directly for corona work in the said districts can function with 25% attendance. Agriculture sector-related shops may remain open till 2 PM on weekdays.