COVID-19 Outbreak: Sec 144 imposed in Mumbai till May 17; only essential services allowed

In view of the necessary restrictions pertaining to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-necessitated lockdown, the Mumbai Police on Tuesday informed that Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) has been imposed in Mumbai till May 17, 2020.

The order informed that movement in the city of one or more persons for all non-essential services is prohibited between 8 PM to 7 AM. However movement of vehicles for medical reasons, including emergencies, and essential services will still be allowed.

Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) of 1973 empowers an executive magistrate to issue orders in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger. Though the scope of Section 144 is wider, it is often used to prohibit an assembly of three or more persons when unrest is anticipated.

In India, the state of Maharashtra has emerged as the epicenter of coronavirus spread where cases have crossed the 14,000-mark with more than 580 deaths. Notably, Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, has become the hotbed of the coronavirus spread in the state. One of the real challenges in Mumbai is controlling the disease contamination in Asia's biggest slum -- Dharavi, which is an extremely densely-populated region.

While the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has marked containment zones in the city, there have also been made demarcations for 'red', 'orange', and 'green' zones to control the coronavirus spread. More than 1500 areas in Mumbai have been marked as coronavirus hotspot zones and around 900 of them are in densely congested areas.

The third phase of the nationwide lockdown began on Monday with "considerable relaxations," as the pre-existing quarantine was further extended for the second time by the Ministry of Home Affairs for two weeks beyond May 3. The Centre has eased restrictions in this period, based on the risk profiling of the districts of the country into red (hotspot), green and orange zones.

The guidelines have permitted considerable relaxations in the districts falling in the green and orange zones.

While some states have decided to abide by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs' guidelines to regulate different activities in the red, green, and orange hotspot zones based on risk profiling, some of the other states have decided to modify the pre-existing regulations to allow considerable relaxation. Many states have announced the opening of shops selling non-essential items like clothes, shoes, stationery, paan, cigarettes, and liquor.

However, governments are also keeping in place necessary curbs so as to not lose all the gains that have been achieved in the battle against the virus. As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak continues to spread like wildfire in India, the central and state governments are respectively amping up all of their efforts to check potential contamination.