In an explosive revelation, an article published in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana has claimed that the minorities in Mumbra, a suburb in Mumbai, were pampered as the lockdown restrictions were relaxed during the Eid festivities.
The article titled- “Pampering of Mumbra residents to stop, strict lockdown to ensue from tomorrow; Chicken, Mutton shops to remain shuttered”(English translation of Marathi title) said that the lockdown restrictions in Mumbra were relaxed and minorities were appeased on account of Eid-al-Fitr. The article further added that as the Eid celebrations are over, the government will once again tighten the lockdown restrictions and all shops, including Chicken and Mutton shops, will be ordered to remain closed and only medical stores and milk shops will be allowed to operate.
“The ongoing appeasement of Mumbra residents to prevent tensions amidst Ramzan is soon going to end after the Eid. A strict lockdown has been announced by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) in the region from May 27 to curb the rising incidence of corona in Mumbai. All the shops except medicines and milk will be shut down and vegetable, fish, chicken and meat markets will be completely closed,” the article read.
This is a stark admission by the Shiv Sena mouthpiece that the Maharashtra government, which is led by Shiv Sena, has been treating the minorities in an overly indulgent manner and risking the chances of coronavirus transmission in the region.
A circular issued by Thane Municipal Corporation read that despite the enforcement of strict lockdown, the region has seen a large number of people crowding at shops and vegetable markets. Cautioning about the substantial rise in the coronavirus cases in Mumbra, the circular said that no shops, except medical and milk shops, will be permitted to remain open.
The Mumbai suburb-Mumbra has also witnessed a steady increase in the number of coronavirus infections and contributed greatly to the total number of coronavirus caseloads in the financial capital. The area has so far reported 298 COVID-19 cases. It is pertinent to note that Nationalist Congress Party leader Jitendra Awhad is MLA from the Mumbra constituency. The Cabinet Minister for Housing was himself infected with the coronavirus and had gone into self-quarantine after his sample tested positive for COVID-19 in mid-April.
Mumbai emerges as a coronavirus hotspot
Mumbai has emerged as the biggest coronavirus hotspots in the country. About 54,000 coronavirus cases have been registered in Maharashtra, more than 60% of which is from Mumbai alone. with more than 1000 fatalities. Though the city saw a drop in the cases in the last two days, however, it continued to record more than 1,000 cases over the last two consecutive weeks.
