Bihar: Stay indoors, appeals Prasad as people venture out during lockdown

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday appealed to the people of Bihar to abide by the lockdown order in the state to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

All district headquarters, sub-divisional headquarters, block headquarters and areas under the urban local bodies of the state have been put under lockdown till March 31.

I appeal to the people of Patna Sahib and the state to honestly follow lockdown directions in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also appealed to follow lockdown directions, Prasad said.

I know that people will face a lot of problems due to the lockdown but it is necessary to protect people from getting infected. We should neither get anxious nor should pay attention to any rumours, said the Patna Sahib MP.

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In violation of the restrictions, people were seen venturing out in their cars and bikes, besides standing next to each other to relish tea and snacks at stalls in different localities of the state capital. The situation was no different in other major towns of Muzaffarpur, Gaya and Bhagalpur.

People were also seen thronging market places and medical stores to stock up essentials. Isolation wards have been set up in different hospitals, the minister said, adding that some private hospitals have also been permitted to conduct tests.

Prasad stated he has been in constant touch with Patna district magistrate, health officials, Patna Municipal Corporation commissioner and state ministers on the issue.

Prasad said that if people of Patna Sahib, the constituency he represents in the Lok Sabha, face any sort of problems, they can reach out through WhatsApp on 7011975458, SMS to 9868181730 or can make calls to 0612-2531635 and 011-23793228.

He appealed to businessmen and industrialists to sanctions leaves to their employees for the lockdown period and not to deduct their salaries.

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