Union Jal Shakti Minister welcomes extension of lockdown

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Tuesday welcomed the extension of lockdown announced by Prime Minister Modi to combat COVID-19.

"I Welcome the lockdown announced by PM Modi. India is taking all the necessary steps under his guidance to combat COVID-19. We have controlled the growth rate of a number of cases," Shekhawat told .

"We have dealt with this crisis as compared to other countries, we will soon come over it," he added.

He said that government is ensuring that farmers' activities will not be affected amid the lockdown.

"We have taken the necessary steps to ensure that the farmers dosen't face any problems. We have issued guidelines to states to ensure harvesting of crops," he said.

The 21-day nationwide lockdown in India, which was imposed till April 14, has been extended till May 3 with strict restrictions in place till April 20. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that a decision on easing restrictions will be taken after a week, only at places which do not have COVID-19 hotspots.

( With inputs from ANI )