The Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) has urged the State Chief Secretary not to extend the lockdown in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation limits.
In a memorandum on Monday to the Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta who had been asked by the Cabinet to review the lockdown in the city Corporation limits, TCCI president S. N. Raghuchandran Nair has pointed out that lockdown is not a solution to control COVID-19 and is found to be ineffective. Containment of specific locations with very practical set of SOPs like wearing of mask, social distancing, use of sanitizer are some of the practical measures that can be enforced.
Coexist with virus
“Many countries and States which have successfully flattened the curve have decided to co-exist with the coronavirus and not to go for a complete lockdown. Instead they went for specific containment zones”.The TCCI president said the authorities have been trying to reduce the number of COVID patients through this measure, but unfortunately the numbers are on the increase. “We see no reason why the whole of city Corporation needs to be clamped with a different yardstick for the last three weeks”. Lockdown has brought all the business activities to a grinding halt affecting the livelihood of all the daily wage earners, he said. Business establishments too are badly hit with no cash flow leading to salary cuts, non-payment of salaries, loss of jobs, including serious consideration of closing down establishments.
