As Tamil Nadu has been going through the fifth phase of lockdown that has come into effect on June 1st and would in place till June 30, the state government has rolled out the fresh guidelines on how the entire month would look from the previous spells of the lockdown. With soaring cases, the fifth phase of the lockdown has become crucial for the state to flatten the curve of COVID-19 affected cases.

The state government has provided fresh relaxations on the transportation channels to have a gradual resumption and revivals. As we reported earlier, the government has created eight zones and roofed all the districts under the zones to permit transports to ensure that the lockdown stays under its control and contain the spread of COVID-19.

According to the guidelines, Zone 1 has been demarcated with Coimbatore, Erode, Nilgiris, Salem, Tiruppur, and Namakkal districts. Zone 2 has been roofed with Dharmapuri, Vellore, Ranipet, Krishnagiri, and Tirupattur districts and Zone 3 has Villupuram, Thiruvannamalai, Cuddalore, and Kallakurichi under its ambit. Zone 4 has Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Trichy, Thanjavur, Ariyalur, Perambalur, and Pudukottai districts.

Zone 5 has Dindigul, Madurai, Theni, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, and Sivagangai districts under its limits while Zone 6 has Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, and Thoothukudi districts. Zone 7 has Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur, and Chengalpattu and Zone 8 has Chennai and the areas under the limits of the Chennai police. These zones have been created and demarcated for the purpose of transportations and the movements of people.

Since Chennai, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, and Thiruvallur have been still under restrictions in the sequel of reporting more cases, the government hasn't provided any relaxation to these four districts on the public transport. Apart from Zone 7 and 8, the government will be operating 50% of the buses in the rest of the zones and these government buses will be plying within the zones.

According to the reports, the public buses will be permitted to play with 60% of the seating capacity and the passengers who are traveling in buses aren't required to obtain the e-pass and people, who are using their private vehicles, can travel within their respective zones without having the e-pass. Earlier, the government has mandated the e-pass for inter-district travels.

Now, as per the fresh guidelines, people can carry out the intra-zone travels without obtaining the e-pass. However, they must obtain the e-pass and undergo screening if they are traveling from one zone to the other. The state government has also consented to the resumption of the private buses on the approved routes. Through the guidelines, it can be learned that the cabs, autos, taxis, and cycle-rickshaws can operate across the state (including Zones 7 and 8) except in containment zones. 

While cabs are permitted to ply with three passengers, apart from the driver, autos are permitted to carry two passengers, apart from the driver, in a ride. According to the press release issued by the Chief Minister, the public buses in all zones, except zones 7 and 8, would resume its services from June 1st. The Tamil Nadu government has, on Sunday, extended the lockdown till June 30 and the current spell has ingredients of more relaxations signaling the revival mode from the survival mode.

To avail a vehicle e-pass from the Tamil Nadu government, please visit: https://tnepass.tnega.org/#/user/pass

Must read: Lockdown 5.0: How it can be compared with Tamil Nadu and Center?