'Farmers should be given relief from lockdown to harvest crop': UP CM Yogi Adityanath

Farmers should be given relief from lockdown to harvest crop, and Uttar Pradesh government would encour institutions and ncies to purchase food grains directly from growers at minimum support price (MSP) or higher, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Sunday.

He directed officials to start online classes for students of higher education, technical education, nursing and paramedical studies, so that ir academic schedule is t wholly disrupted.

Online counselling of students was also discussed at a meeting of officials chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

"At meeting, chief minister said since harvesting season is on, farmers should be allowed to move. Apart from government purchasing centres, if or institutions and ncies want to buy crops directly from farmers, y would be encourd to do so provided price is on par with MSP or above," Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi told reporters here.

About arrangements made for Tablighi Jamaat congregation attendees traced in state, he said, "Provisions to quarantine people related to Tablighi Jamaat have been made so as to stop furr spread of COVID-19. Foreign Jamaatis have also been given medical treatment after putting m in quarantine. So far, passports of 259 persons have been seized."

As many as 133 COVID-19 hotspots have been identified in 15 districts in state, 342 positive coronavirus cases have been detected and 2,986 people suspected to have contracted virus have been put in facility quarantine, additional chief secretary said.

Awasthi said so far 15,378 cases have been registered against 48,503 people for violation of lockdown order and 2,144 vehicles impounded. He also said cyber cell was probing 201 instances of fake news that have so far come to fore, of which 46 were reported yesterday. 

Im Credits: PTI