Industries to remain shut in Tamil Nadu as lockdown to continue till May 3

Industries including automobile manufacturing and textiles, which were expecting a partial lifting of the lockdown, will remain closed now, said industry sources

Tamil Nadu will continue under a lockdown to contain the coronavirus till May 3, said the government decided on Monday after a meeting on allowing industries to resume.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Monday chaired a meeting of ministers and senior officials and discussed the issue. Post the meeting the State government said it has decided to continue with the existing lockdown restrictions till the central government announced May 3.

However, the relaxations given for essential services earlier will continue.

Tamil Nadu government also pointed out the Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat and others who have also decided to continue with the lockdown restrictions till May 3, taking into account the extent of coronavirus spread.

Tamil Nadu government has set up an expert committee to look into all aspects and give its recommendations.

Sources from the industry said it's a sensible decision as the entire supply chain in the entire country need to be open, since the state to state movements are stopped. Lifting the restrictions partly in one state may not be helpful to open the mother plant. Industries including automobile manufacturing and textiles, which were expecting a partial lifting of the lockdown, will remain closed now, they said.

However, sources from the textile sector were upset since they were expecting a partial lifting of lockdown would have helped in starting export operations.

After reporting lower numbers in the last couple of days, the state has reported a drastic increase in the new infection numbers. On Sunday Tamil Nadu reported a sharp increase in the number of Covid-19 patients with 105 persons diagnosed with the coronavirus infection taking the total tally to 1,477.

The State has seen the industries remain shut close to March 25, with the Covid-19 infection started to spread across the country and the Centre has imposed a lockdown across the country initially till April 14 and later extended to May 3. Many industries are involved in producing essential materials including masks and ventilators.