T

he Uttar Pradesh government did not implement Allahabad High Court's order of lockdown in five cities of the state and will approach the Supreme Court regarding it. The High Court on Monday had directed the state government to enforce lockdown strictly in five cities of Uttar Pradesh- Lucknow, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Kanpur and Gorakhpur till April 26 to break the chain of coronavirus.

The HC had ordered closure of private and public establishments citing the pandemic that "has virtually incapacitated our medical infrastructure...especially in cities like Prayagraj, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur and Gorakhpur." However, Yogi Adityanath-led government defied the court's order and said the High Court cannot infringe upon the domain of the executive.

The UP government said in a statement that it had to save both lives and livelihoods due to which it was not in favour of complete lockdown in the cities. However, according to the HC order, the lockdown was supposed to be implemented with exceptions of financial, scientific and industrial institutions, medical and health departments and essential services, including municipal functions and public transport.