Breaking: Allahabad High Court: Lockdown In 5 UP Cities; Yogi-led State Government Refuses To Impose It

Registering its disapproval over the state's handling of Corona pandemic - the court issued a series of orders, including suspension and closure of all religious activities and establishments, and closure of all shopping malls

Yogi-led UP government on Monday evening refused to follow directions of Allahabad High Court to lockdown five cities - Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Kanpur, Gorakhpur - from tonight till April 26. The directions were passed keeping in view the rapid daily increase in coronavirus cases in the state.

The state refused to implement the order - needed, the court said, because the pandemic had "virtually incapacitated our medical infrastructure... specially in cities like Prayagraj, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur and Gorakhpur" - because it had to protect both lives and livelihoods.

Registering its disapproval over the state's handling of Corona pandemic - UP today recorded a record 30,000+ new cases in 24 hours this morning - the court issued a series of orders, including suspension and closure of all religious activities and establishments, and closure of all shopping malls.

The court also ordered all education institutions - across the entire state - to shut down as well.

It also mandated that all offices, whether government or private, were to be closed too, with exceptions for financial institutions, businesses offering medical or health services, industrial and scientific establishments, and those providing essential services such as municipal functions and public transport, etc

The High Court also suspended all social functions and gatherings, including those for marriage functions, for the duration of the lockdown. The High Court said - Exceptions could be made, for "already fixed marriages" pending permission from the concerned District Magistrate, whose decision was to be based on "the local prevailing COVID-19 situation." Even in such cases, attendance will be limited to 25 people.

All other public movement on the roads will be "restricted", with only those experiencing medical emergencies allowed to travel, the High court said.

Uttar Pradesh is one of the worst affected states in this second Covid wave; the state reported over 30,000 new cases this morning, taking its active caseload to over 1.91 lakh

Only Maharashtra - with more than 6.7 lakh active cases - has been more badly hit than UP.