Deputy Chief Minister and Pune Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar Friday said the state government will soon decide if the shop closure timings from the current deadline of 4 pm could be extended to 8 pm or not. Pawar, who participated at an inaugural event of a trial run of Pune Metro on Friday, said the Covid Task Force of the state government has asked it to go slow on relaxations and take precautions in the light of the third wave of Covid infections underway in several countries in Europe and Africa. "The current deadline of 4 pm for the shops to close may be extended to 8 pm. This will be decided by the Chief Minister who will also make an announcement in this regard. The weekend restrictions may also be reduced by allowing the markets to function on Saturday. This has been done so that those who work from Monday to Friday can do the necessary shopping," said Pawar. He said that authorities and citizens need to take all the precautions considering the danger that lurks in the form of the third wave of Covid-19 infections which is a reality in other countries. "In Pune, there's good compliance to the masking rule. However, in the rural areas that I have been to, people don't wear a mask at all. This is bad for them and the community at large. The administration of such areas has to enforce the mask rule strictly and the citizens should do that to protect their own selves, "said Pawar. Pawar is scheduled to hold the weekly Covid-19 review meeting later today.
