COVID-19: Odisha extends lockdown till May 17, issues fresh guidelines

Bhubaneswar: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent extension of lockdown orders, the Odisha government today allowed industrial activities and construction activities in red zones with conditions.

While extending the lockdown and issuing fresh guidelines after the Centre’s extension of COVID-19 lockdown till May 17, the State government today said manufacturing units of essential goods, including drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, their raw material and intermediates are allowed to function in the red zones except the containment zones.

Production units which require continuous process and their supply chain, manufacturing of IT hardware and manufacturing of packaging material are also permitted.

The government said all industrial activities are permitted in rural areas.

Only in-situ construction where workers are available on site and no workers are required to be brought in from outside the urban limits and construction of renewable energy projects are permitted, the government order said.

All construction activities are permitted in rural areas.

Shops selling essential goods in markets and market complexes are permitted. Similarly all standalone shops, neighbourhood shops and shops in residential complexes are permitted to remain open in urban areas without any distinction of essential and non-essential items.

However, all shops in rural areas except in malls are permitted to remain open.

The order further said cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws are not permitted in the red zone. Taxis and cab aggregators are also prohibited in the area. This apart, inter-district and intra-district plying of buses are restricted.

In the red zone, four wheeler vehicles will have maximum two passengers besides the vehicle driver. For two wheelers, pillion rider is not allowed.

Transport aggregators like OLA, UBER are permitted by Commerce & Transport (Transport) Department for transportation of medical personnel/ patients to and from hospitals, the order said.

Similarly, inter-district and intra-district plying of buses are prohibited in orange zone outside containment zone.

But, taxis and cab aggregators with one driver and two passengers are permitted in the orange zone. Inter-district movement of individuals and vehicles, only for permitted activities. Four wheeler vehicles will have maximum two passengers besides the driver.

inter-district and intra-district plying of buses are prohibited in green zone as well.