Maharashtra lockdown will take toll on economy

New Delhi: Indian industry on Wednesday said imposition of stricter lockdown in Maharashtra will help slow the transmission of coronavirus but it will have a deep impact on the State's economy.

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday announced a 15-day Statewide curfew from Wednesday amid the spike in coronavirus cases in the State. The curfew, which exempts essential services, will come into effect from 8 pm on Wednesday.

Industry has impressed upon the States that there must be no lockdown. Industry body FICCI said it has interactions with the Maharashtra government and the chamber has shared inputs from its members both on policy and operational issues. "We are certainly hopeful that this (restrictions) will help slow the transmission of the virus. However, the lockdown will have a deep impact on the state's economy and FICCI Maharashtra will engage deeply with the stakeholders in the government to minimise the impact and smoothen out the implementation related issues," Sulajja Firodia Motwani, chairperson of FICCI Maharashtra, said.

Industry body Assocham also said it is working with the Maharashtra government to mitigate the economic impact of its 15-day curfew, and urged all States to reach out to the most vulnerable sections of the industry, particularly in the informal sectors, with the best possible relief. "We would continue to remain engaged with the central and the Maharashtra governments, in our efforts to mitigate the economic impact of the 15-day Jantata Curfew in the State," Assocham said in a statement.

B Thiagarajan, Chairman (Western Region) of CII, said the industry is abiding by standard operating procedures to ensure a safe working place for its workforce and also to ensure containment of the spread. CII has been consistently making a strong point in favour of continuing industry operations smoothly while abiding by the procedures for the workplace. From time to time, it has urged the government that there should be no lockdown, he added.