Interacting with opposition leaders, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday expressed confidence that the coronavirus pandemic in the state will be curbed by the end of this month.
The Union government was cooperating with the state and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was easily available for discussion and guidance, he said in the meeting which he addressed through video conference.
"I have been talking to you over telephone and seeking your views. I am also reading what you say in the media. If they are good suggestions, I ask the administration to look into them," he said.
"The Centre is also cooperating. The prime minister is easily available for guidance on critical issues," Thackeray said.
"Due to lockdown, the number of patients did not rise (drastically) in April. We need to take care in May. The number of patients is growing in Mumbai and the government has created adequate isolation centers," he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office.
"The pandemic shall be curbed by the end of this month," he said.
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The opposition leaders who attended the meeting assured that they were with the government during this crisis, the CMO statement said.
The chief minister appealed to people living in containment zones in Malegaon and Aurangabad cities, which are emerging as infection hotspots, to follow rules, and added that local elected representatives should cooperate with the administration.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said opposition leaders should help the farmers who haven't got benefit of the farm loan waiver to get crop loans.
The CMO statement said that Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis stressed the need to focus on the situation in Mumbai and to improve the hospital management.
There should be a planning to ensure the safety of medical workers, he said.
The former chief minister also said the state government should demand more trains for ferrying migrant workers to their home states.
Fadnavis also said that steps should be taken to boost the morale of the police force, and recommended formation of zone-wise expert groups for revival of industries.
PWP leader Jayant Patil demanded protection for agriculture-based industries, while Bahujan Vikas Aghadi leader Hitendra thakur said local train services in Mumbai area should be resumed for few hours a day.
VBA leader Prakash Ambedkar said cotton procurement in the state should not stop, while AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel said that hospitals should not neglect non-coronavirus patients.
MNS leader Raj Thackeray said the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) should be deployed in containment zones to assist the police who have been working non-stop for two months.
Migrant workers should be registered when they return to the state, he said, and demanded that the government declare its lockdown exit plan in advance.