In an attempt to arrive at a consensus on combating COVID-19 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday held a meeting with representatives of all political parties and announced that the lockdown in the State will be extended with necessary relaxations till July 31. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe discussed about lockdown. Not everyone agreed on the issue. But since the disease is spreading we must have a lockdown with necessary relaxations\u201d, Ms. Banerjee said. <\/p>\n
Schools and colleges would remain closed during the period but the government offices would function as they were with staggered work force. <\/p>\n
BJP State president Dilip Ghosh, Communist Party of India ( Marxist) State Secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra, Congress Rajya Sabha member Pradip Bhattacharya and Speaker of the Assembly Biman Banerjee participated in the meeting at the State Secretariat that went on for almost four hours.<\/p>\n
More testing centres<\/h2>\n
The Chief Minister also announced a committee, where the State BJP president and the CPI(M) State Secretary will be members and give suggestions on combating the COVID-19 pandemic. It was discussed in the meeting that testing centres should be increased. <\/p>\n
Another issue raised at the meeting was irregularities in the distribution of relief for those affected by cyclone Amphan. \u201cAt some places, some people have been deprived. The administration has been asked to make the list of beneficiaries public,\u201d Ms. Banerjee said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n