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

Lucknow, Apr 12 () Farmers should be given relief from the lockdown to harvest crop, and the Uttar Pradesh government would encourage institutions and agencies to purchase food grains directly from the 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 their academic schedule is not wholly disrupted.

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

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

About arrangements made for the Tablighi Jamaat congregation attendees traced in the state, he said, "Provisions to quarantine people related to the Tablighi Jamaat have been made so as to stop further spread of COVID-19. Foreign Jamaatis have also been given medical treatment after putting them 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 the state, 342 positive coronavirus cases have been detected and 2,986 people suspected to have contracted the virus have been put in facility quarantine, the additional chief secretary said.

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