A group of ministers on Tuesday recommended extension of closure of all educational institutions and restricting all religious activities having public participation till May 15 irrespective of whether the government extends the 21-day lockdown or not, official sources said.

The thinking in the government is that schools and colleges will more less remain shut till end of June as the summer vacation will start from middle of May.

A meeting of the GoM chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and participated by Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman concluded that religious centres, shopping malls and educational institutions must not be allowed to resume normal functioning at least for four weeks from April 14 when the current lockdown ends.

The GoM recommended that activities of all religious organisations should not be allowed till May 15 as a precautionary measure to check spread of coronavirus infection, the sources added.

The GoM has been tasked with monitoring the overall situation in the country arising out of the coronavirus pandemic and make recommendations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The GoM also briefly discussed possible scenarios after end of the current spell of the lockdown. It recommended that the inputs of the states are crucial in taking specific decisions on measures to contain the pandemic.

The meeting was also attended by several key members of the Union Cabinet including Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra PradhanChemicals and Fertilisers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Zubin Irani and Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat were also among those who attended the meeting. 

The GoM also expressed gratitude to thousands of health professionals, security personnel and countless others involved in ensuring smooth operation of essential services and supply chain of food and medicines since the 21-day lockdown came into force on the midnight of March 24, the sources said.

The GoM appreciated the decision of Union Cabinet to suspend the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) for two years to facilitate additional resources to fight the pandemic.

Source: PTI