Chandigarh, May 18– Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal said that as the fourth phase of nationwide lockdown due to the global pandemic COVID-19 has been implemented from today, and the scope of relaxations, allowed during lockdown 3, has further been widened in accordance with MHA guidelines. He said that the intra and interstate bus service will be allowed from May 19.

He said that as per the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) the restrictions will continue especially in the containment zone. Apart from this the areas other than the containment zone will be considered as orange zone and all non-restricted activities will resume in such areas.

The Chief Minister said that in a review meeting today measures to be taken for smooth power supply during summer season were discussed. He said that the work regarding issuance of tubewell connections had been started and around 1,000 new tubewells with five-star motors have been installed while the remaining such 4,000 tubewells will be installed till June 30. He said that complaints regarding inflated domestic electricity bills will also be taken up and the discrepancies will be corrected. Those who have complaints regarding their domestic electricity bills can lodge their complaints at toll-free number 1912. The Chief Minister further added that if someone has already made the payment for inflated bills then they need not worry as the amount will be adjusted in the next bill.

He said that the Jail Department had given parole to 6,000 inmates out of 18,000 inmates. These inmates were given parole for six weeks and now the duration of the parole has been extended for another six weeks in view of the global pandemic COVID-19. Thus, the inmates on parole will return to jail after 12 weeks. He said it was a relief that the jails were functioning smoothly and there was not a single corona positive case reported from the jails.