Madhya Pradesh extends COVID-19 lockdown in Indore, several other cities till 19 April; curbs in Jabalpur from 12 April

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government on Saturday decided to extend the lockdown in several cities, including commercial hub Indore, till 19 April amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the state, an official said. Besides, the lockdown in some other districts has been extended till 22 April, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajesh Rajora informed. At present, the lockdown is in force in all urban areas of the state till 6 am on Monday. The decision to extend the lockdown was taken at a meeting held by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan with district crisis management committees via video conferencing. Speaking on the extension, Rajora said, “Lockdown will be in force in Indore city, Rau, Mhow, Shajapur city and some districts like Ujjain, Barwani, Rajgarh and Vidisha till 6 am on 19 April.” Lockdown will be in force from 12 April till the morning of 22 April in Balaghat, Narsinghpur and Seoni districts as well as Jabalpur city, and orders under Section 144 of CrPC will be issued by respective collectors soon, Rajora added.