Day after Patna HC berates Bihar's handling of COVID-19 pandemic, state imposes lockdown till 15 May

Patna: A day after the Patna High Court slammed the Bihar government for its poor handling of the second wave of the pandemic and sought to know whether it was enforcing lockdown or not, the administration on Tuesday announced imposition of lockdown from 5 to May 15. The decision was made at the meeting of the Crisis Management Group presided over by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The Patna High Court had on Monday asked Advocate General Lalit Kishore to talk to the chief minister on the urgent need of the lockdown. When contacted, Kishore told PTI he has intimated the High Court about declaration of the lockdown to check the spread of the virus. The state saw 10 percent positivity rate in last one week. The lockdown decision was welcomed by the political parties, but the main Opposition RJD attacked the government claiming it was made after the infection has spread in villages. Soon after the crisis management group meeting, the chief minister announced the decision, following which Chief Secretary Tripurari Sharan along with senior police and administration officers held a press conference to announce the modalities.