Jaipur, April 19 In view of the steep rise in Covid-19 cases, the Rajasthan government has announced a 15-day lockdown starting from Monday and will continue till May 3.

The home department, late on Sunday night, issued new guidelines, and the lockdown period has been named as 'Public Discipline Fortnight'. All offices except those connected with essential services shall remain closed.

Shops connected to grocery, fruit, dairy products, etc. shall remain open till 5 p.m. Vegetable vendors have been allowed to sell their stuff by till 7 p.m. Petrol pumps shall remain open till 8 p.m, as per the new guidelines.

Public transport shall remain open in the state and factories and manufacturing units shall also remain operational. NREGA projects will also continue to ensure workers get regular jobs.

According to the guidelines, the bazaars, malls, shopping complexes, cinema halls and all religious places shall remain closed. All the educational institutes, coaching centres, libraries, social and political programmes, etc. have also been suspended.

"All commercial offices and markets shall remain closed except the essential services. Commuters from bus stops, metro stations and airports shall have to show tickets to commute, those coming to Rajasthan from other states shall have to show their RT-PCR reports collected within 72 hours of travel.

"Pregnant women will be allowed to travel to hospital. Those going to take Covid shots will be permitted and the PDS shops will also run all through the week. Only 50 people will be allowed to attend wedding parties while 20 for a funeral. Telecom, Internet services, postal services, cable services, etc. will remain open" said the guidelines.