Rupesh Samant

Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Apr 9: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday ruled out imposing ‘night curfew’ in the coastal state claiming that such a move would 'adversely affect the tourism industry'.

Talking to reporters after attending the review meeting with prime minister Narendra Modi through virtual mode, Sawant also said, “Lockdown was not the solution to control the spread of the virus.”

The chief minister said that the state will not impose night curfew as it will adversely affect the tourism industry.

He said that lockdown would create economic disturbances forcing the state to undergo the same situation which it had witnessed a year ago.

“People should not move out of their homes without a reason. Vaccination and precautions are the solutions to curb the spread of the virus,” Sawant said.

He said that the state would be holding extensive programmes reaching out to the people at even village panchayat level with the vaccination drive.

“We want to cover maximum population above the age of 45 years under this programme. Our target is to vaccinate a hundred percent of the eligible beneficiaries under the vaccination programme,” the chief minister said.

He said that the PM has appealed to the state to hold 'Tika Utsav' from April 11-14 in their respective states.

Responding to a question, Sawant said that the state health department has increased bed capacity to treat COVID-19 patients considering the rising number of cases.