The government on Monday banned all domestic passenger flight operations from March 24 midnight as the country goes under wide lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus. All passenger trains, metro trains and inter-state buses were suspended on Sunday.
The government had already suspended international flight operations for a week from March 22.
At least 19 states and Union territories have already been placed under complete lockdown while six states/UTs are under partial lockdown.
“The operations of domestic schedule commercial airlines shall cease operations with effect from the midnight that is 23.59 hours IST on 24/3/2020. Airlines have to plan operations so as to land at their destination before 23:59 hours on 24/3/2020,” the government said.
The restrictions will not apply to solely cargo-carrying flights, it said.
Chandigarh, Delhi, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Ladakh, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Tripura, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are under statewide lockdown.
The number of positive coronavirus cases across India rose to 415 on Monday with seven deaths reported so far. With 89 cases, Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases in the country.
Earlier on Monday, the Centre directed states to strictly enforce the lockdown and take legal action against violators as the number of coronavirus cases in the country rose to 415.
The directions were issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi lamented that people are not taking the lockdown in the country seriously.
In a tweet, Modi appealed to the people to save their family members and themselves by strictly adhering to the directions being given by the State and Central Governments.
He requested the state governments to make people adhere to the lockdown.
“Many people are still not taking the lockdown seriously. Please save yourself, save your family, follow the instructions seriously. I request state governments to enforce the rules,” he said.
There are several laws under which state governments can take action against those violating the lockdown measures.
The government on Sunday decided to suspend all metro and train services across the country as a measure to stop the spread of COVID-19. Metro rail services on all operational networks across the country will remain suspended till March 31, 2020.
All passenger train services on Indian Railways including premium trains, Mail/Express trains, passenger trains, suburban Trains, Kolkata Metro Rail, Konkan Railway will be cancelled till March 31.
Read More:
- ‘Time to bring in soldiers to check road carnage’ -Expert
- Mahama supports Akufo-Addos’ call for National fasting Day
- Is the EC for your mother? – Citi FM boss slams Electoral Commission
- Fox News Today: Jacksonville Jaguars fire Tom Coughlin after NFLPA criticism
- Lockdown in Ladakh as number od COVID-19 cases climb to 10
- Delhi court seeks report on assault on Nirbhaya convict by April 8, says won’t affect execution