Sharad Pawar meets Chief Minister Thackeray

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his alliance partner and NCP president Sharad Pawar held a discussion on Saturday night, hours after the Centre announced extension of lockdown in containment zones till June 30.

The meeting between the two leaders, fourth in the recent weeks, took place at `Varsha', the official residence of chief minister.

The current phase of lockdown ends on Sunday. 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.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Saturday issued fresh guidelines, saying that the nationwide lockdown in containment zones will continue till June 30.

It, however, listed extensive relaxations, including opening of religious places and shopping malls in a phased manner from June 8.