Extend lockdown till May end: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to PM Modi during video conference

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar during the video conference with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that extending the lockdown will make it convenient to manage the migrants coming back to the state. 

Also Read: Maharashtra reports 1,230 new coronavirus cases, 36 deaths in 24 hours

"It will help in detecting possibly infected persons and containing the spread of coronavirus," the Bihar chief minister told the Indian prime minister.

"We will agree with whatever decision the central government takes on lockdown but our advice is to extend the lockdown till the end of May," CM Nitish Kumar said.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the Indian prime minister that states face "different challenges" and should be given the freedom to make reasonable changes to the guidelines relating to the lockdown.

The nationwide lockdown which was announced by PM Modi on March 24 was extended till May 17 as the coronavirus cases began increasing.

"Economic activities should be allowed to resume in all parts of Delhi except containment zones," chief minister Arvind Kejriwal told India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi during video conference.

Chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to resume the passenger train services in order to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Ecohing the thoughts of other chief ministers, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh during video conference with PM Narendra Modi pitched for extension of the lockdown but with a carefully crafted strategy, backed by fiscal and economic empowerment of the states.

(With ANI inputs)