On Monday morning, Shekhar Gupta’s ThePrint published an article claiming that an unnamed government official has said that the 3 week lockdown announced from 24th March 2020 may be extended by a week. In fact, ThePrint claims that three unnamed government officials claimed that the migrants leaving their place of work and moving back homes en masse ‘is leading to a rethink regarding the duration’.
However, Prasar Bharati, India’s public broadcaster refuted the claims and clarified that the government has no such plans in motion as of now.
FAKE NEWS ALERT 🚨
— Prasar Bharati News Services (@PBNS_India) March 30, 2020
PBNS got in touch with the Cabinet Secretary on this news article.
The Cabinet Secretary expressed surprise & said that there is no such plan of extending the lockdown. https://t.co/CrLlp6f7X5
Prasar Bharati said that they got in touch with the cabinet secretary who expressed surprise at such claims. According to Prasar Bharati, there is no such plan of extending the lockdown.
On March 24, Prime Minister Modi addressed the nation and announced a 21-day lockdown to contain the spread of Chinese coronavirus. Prime Minister Modi assured citizens that the government will ensure that emergency services and ration will be stocked up and that the people will not face problems. He appealed to everyone to stay at home and avoid stepping out of the house unnecessarily.
