The Telangana government decided to impose a night curfew in the state from Tuesday till April 30 to check the spread of Covid-19.

The curfew will be in force from 9 p.m. till 5 a.m. the next day, says the Government Order (GO) issued by Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar. The order will come into force with immediate effect.

The government took the decision a day after the Telangana High Court gave 48-hours to decide on imposing a night curfew or lockdown. The court had made it clear that if the government fails to make a decision, it will pass appropriate orders.

All offices, firms, shops, establishments, restaurants, etc. shall close at 8 p.m., says the GO.

However, hospitals, diagnostic labs, pharmacies and those dealing with supply of essential services like print and electronic media, telecommunications, Internet services, broadcasting and cable services, IT and IT-enabled services, delivery of all goods through e-commerce, petrol pumps, LPG, CNG, petroleum and gas outlets, power generation, transmission and distribution, water supply and sanitation, cold storage and warehousing services, private security services and production units or services which require continuous process are exempted.

Movement of all persons shall be prohibited from 9 p.m. onwards. Officers of Government of India and Government of Telangana on emergency duty, all private medical personnel such as doctors, nursing staff, paramedics and providers of other hospital services, pregnant women and patients for the purpose of receiving medical care and persons coming from/going to airports, railway stations, bus stands will be exempted on the production of a valid ticket.

There will be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement/transportation of essential and non-essential goods. Public transport services including autos and taxis shall be allowed to function within the stipulated time for the transportation of the categories of people exempted from the curfew.

The GO says that any violation will result in prosecution under Sections 51 to 60 of Disaster Management Act 2005 and Section 188 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as other applicable laws.