As COVID-19 cases are rapidly surging in India, the Centre and State governments on Sunday decided a complete lockdown in 75 districts across the country. The major decision has been taken following a meeting between chief secretaries of all states and the cabinet secretary and the principal secretary to the prime minister. PM Narendra Modi Says 'Janata Curfew' is Beginning of Long Battle Against Coronavirus Outbreak in India.

"In view of the need to contain the spread of the deadly Covid-19, it was agreed that there was an urgent need to extend the restrictions on the movement of non-essential passenger transport, including interstate transport buses till March 31," a Union Home Ministry official said. Indians Clap and Play Utensils During Janata Curfew to Honour the Medical Heroes and Other Essential Service Workers; Watch Videos of #5Baje5Minute.

"State governments will issue orders allowing only essential services to operate in about 75 districts with confirmed Covid-19 cases or casualties," the official said.

Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, and Kerala have announced a lockdown on some of its districts.

List of Districts Which Are Under Complete Lockdown:

  1. Delhi: North Delhi, Central Delhi, East Delhi, North East Delhi, North West Delhi, South Delhi and West Delhi.

  2. Haryana: Gurugram, Sonepat, Panchkula, Faridabad and Panipat

  3. Maharashtra: Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Ahmednagar, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Ratnagiri, Pune, Raigarh and Thane.

  4. Andhra Pradesh: Vizag, Vijaywada and Prakasam under total lockdown.

  5. Rajasthan: Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Bhilwara and Jaipur.

  6. Uttar Pradesh: GB Nagar, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Agra, Varanasi, and Lakhimpur Kheri

    West Bengal: Kolkata and North 24 Parganas

  7. Gujarat: Kutch, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Vadodra, Surat and Ahmedabad

  8. Kerala: Trivandrum, Alappuzha, Idukki, Kasargode, Ernakulam, Mallapuram, Kannur, Kottayam and Thrissur

  9. Chhattisgarh: Raipur

  10. Tamil Nadu: Erode, Chennai and Kanchipuram

In the meeting, it was also decided to suspend all passenger train services till March 31, including suburban train services. All mero services have also been shut for the same period. However, essential services will run.

The development comes after COVID-19 cases in India rose over 340, while the death toll surged to seven on Sunday. Millions of people across India stayed indoor on March 22 after PM Narendra Modi's appeal for "Janata Curfew" to contain the spread of the virus.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 22, 2020 08:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).