Mumbai, April 17: Amid coronavirus lockdown in the country, The Maharashtra government on Friday instructed landlords to delay rent collection by at least three months. The Uddhav Thackeray-led government also asked landlords not to evict tenants that are unable to pay rent during that period. The advisory was issued by the Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Kumar. Migrant Workers Protest In Bandra, Mumbai, Demand They Be Allowed To Travel To Their Native States as COVID-19 Lockdown Gets Extended, Watch Video.

In a tweet from the official handle of Maharashtra CMO, the government said, “The State Housing Department has issued instructions to landlords/ house owners to postpone rent collection by at least three months as tenants are finding it difficult to pay the payment regularly due to financial crisis. During this period, no tenant should be evicted from the rented house due to non-payment of rent.” Amit Shah Calls Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray Over Bandra Incident, Says 'Such Events Weaken Fight Against Coronavirus'.

Tweet by Maharashtra CMO:

The development came days after hundreds of migrant workers in Mumbai’s Bandra took to streets demanding that authorities should make arrangements for their passage to their native place. Mumbai police also resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd. It is reported that the huge gathering took place after a Marathi news channel aired the news that the railways would start trains for migrant workers. Later, Raul Kulkarni, a TV journalist, was arrested or spreading misinformation about trains. Coronavirus Cases in India Reach 13,835, Death Toll Jumps to 452, Over 200 COVID-19 Patients Recover in Past 24 Hours.

Migrants labourers are the worst-affected due to the countrywide lockdown as they lost their only source of income. They were forced to move to their hometown on foot or on cycle. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday extended the lockdown till May 3 to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst affected state in India due to coronavirus. In Maharashtra, 3,250 people have contracted COVID-19 so far. The death also rose to 194 on Friday in the western state of the country. Meanwhile, in India, 13,835 people have been diagnosed with the deadly virus. COVID-19 also claimed the lives of 452 people in the country.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 17, 2020 06:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).