In a major shift, Odisha government has virtually started the process of unlocking in nearly three-fifth of the State's landscape.
Odisha Lockdown Update: Here's What's Allowed and What's Not
Giving a dolly shot, the State today not only goes for a 'camera roll', but also thrown open the public transport in as many as 20 districts. A lift in weekend shutdown in 20 performing districts and opening of all shops, including non-essential ones, across the State have been the key highlights announced today.
Announcing the decisions of the government, Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra spells out major reliefs from the drudgery of the lockdown for the citizens and business community alike. While just stopping sort of complete unlock in 20 performing districts, the State Government has kept the night curfew in force as a precautionary measure.
Odisha Extends Partial Lockdown Till July 16; Know More Details Here
Terming the State government's lockdown strategy as result-oriented, Mahapatra observed that during the last 15 days, the scenario of the pandemic in the State has posted improvement. As a consequence, three districts - Keonjhar, Angul and Dhenkanal - have been included in the category A districts.
"We thank the people of Odisha for helping the State government in achieving the objective of bringing the epidemic scenario in the State under control. The lockdown strategy of the government has yielded results, and three districts have been upgraded to Category A districts having low transmission risk," said Mahapatra.
Back To Business
In a significant relief to small traders and retailers, the State government today allowed resumption of all shopping activities - essential and non-essential - across the State. While in the performing 20 districts, the business hour has been extended by an hour to 6 pm, the coastal districts too got a bonus of an hour but the window of business hours has been limited to till 2pm.
Except shopping malls, beauty parlour and spas, the State has granted permission to all business activities across the State from July1.
The Big Picture
Giving a dolly shot, the State has decided to go for the camera roll from Thursday (July1). While outdoor and indoor shooting can be resumed in the 20 category A districts, only outdoor shooting permitted in 10 Cat B districts.
As per the State's Film Policy in 2019, annually around 50 Odia films are screened in the State. The turnover of the industry is estimated at around Rs 27 crore.
The Govt's policy has observed, "Starting its journey since 1936, the Odia film industry has come a long way contributing to State's economy and employment creation. The Rs 200 cr plan to develop Kalinga studio alone will see generation of over 10k jobs indirectly," said a State government report.
The Small Story
The shooting permission has been given to all genre of entertainment industry in the State, except to the open opera forum. In fact, the TV serial platform is gaining much popularity in the State. As a consequence, the industry is growing by leaps and bounds in creating employment opportunities in the State, revealed a report.
As per BARC report, Odisha figured among the Top-5 fastest growing TV markets in the country. Highest viewership of 42 per cent in Odia TV market comes from serials, the data revealed and further added that general entertainment channels contribute a whopping 74 pc of total Odia viewership in the State.
Given the economic consequences, the State government has set the stage ready for light, camera and action from July 1.
Locks Only The 4
• Education institutes, Coaching classes barred from operation
• Cinema halls, Jatra (open air theatres) and places of worship locked.
• No exhibition, trade fairs and melas
• Malls and swimming pools