Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi has said that a decision regarding continuation of lockdown in Dharwad district will be taken on Friday after consulting district in-charge Minister Jagadish Shettar and the Deputy Commissioner.
Speaking to presspersons after a meeting on the issue of lockdown at Circuit House in Hubballi on Thursday, Mr. Joshi said that during the meeting chaired by Mr. Shettar, opinions and suggestions of representatives of various trade bodies, industrialists and other stakeholders were sought. The final decision will be taken on Friday.
He said that in the wake of a surge in COVID-19 cases and positivity rate, there was panic among the public, especially after more positive cases were reported in market areas. “Most of the participants in the meeting were for stricter lockdown to break the COVID-19 chain. A decision will be taken after consultation with Mr. Shettar and the Deputy Commissioner,” he said.
On black fungus, Mr. Joshi said that it was an alarming development. But already the issue has been discussed with the concerned and remedial measures are being taken.
He said that as the number of black fungus cases is increasing at a fast pace, there was scarcity of medicine because pharmaceutical companies too did not expect such a sudden rise of cases. Efforts are on to expedite production of medicine and facilitate import from other countries and very soon, medicine for black fungus will be available, he said.
Earlier, during the meeting after giving suggestions on the lockdown, members of Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) urged the Ministers to take steps for timely distribution of seeds and fertilizer to farmers during the lockdown.
Apart from Mr. Shettar, MLAs Shankar Patil Munenakoppa and Arvind Bellad, MLC Pradeep Shettar, Deputy Commissioner Nitesh Patil , Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer B. Susheela and others were present.
Mr. Joshi and Mr. Shettar subsequently handed over to the district administration 51 oxygen concentrators of 10 litre capacity donated by MICL under CSR initiative and 100 empty cylinders for refilling oxygen.
Mr. Nitesh Patil, who received them, said that they would be allocated to different taluks based on demand.
