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With the Unlock 2.0 guidelines set to lapse on July 31, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci) has asked the central government to allow resumption of regular international flights and metro rail services.
In a submission to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the chamber has also pushed for reopening public places like hotels, bars, cinema halls, sports venues, and auditoriums.
Ficci has asked for Indian and foreign airlines to be allowed to operate between countries on a reciprocal basis. It has suggested that passengers be allowed to travel based on Covid negative certificates issued by the origin country. However, for this, airports need to help set up ‘Safe Corridors’ and sample collection centres.
Ficci has also suggested that metro rail services across cities be resumed with less than 50 per cent capacity initially, before increasing it gradually. The chamber has mooted mandatory thermal screening at entry points and ensuring distance between travelers. Norms for switching between air conditioning and fresh air ventilation on underground stations would also need to be put in place, it said. Trains should also be prohibited from stopping in containment zones, and all passengers and staff should wear masks.
However, with states getting more autonomy now in the fight against the pandemic, it is unlikely that most will reopen metro services. Currently, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru have large metro systems and all of them continue to see an uptick in cases.
The chamber has said a risk analysis should be conducted of sporting events as a precursor to systematic lifting of restrictions on them. It has deemed sports played without physical contact, such as shooting, badminton, tennis, cricket, and archery as no risk, while classifying those with limited physical contact such as football, volleyball, handball, and hockey as carrying low risk. These should be allowed during Unlock 3.0, utilising one-third capacity of available infrastructure and after ensuring that standard operating procedures are followed, Ficci said.
Unlock 2.0 began on July 1 and, at present, lockdowns have only been imposed in containment zones. But a prime grouse of citizens has been the continuing night curfews from 10 pm to 5 am in all areas. State governments are currently allowed to impose restrictions on all activities, but state borders need to remain open.
