Madhya Pradesh suspends bus operations with Chhattisgarh till April 15

Bhopal, Apr 07: The Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday suspended bus operations with Chhattisgarh till April 15 in the wake of a rise in COVID-19 cases in the neighbouring state. An order to this effect was issued by the Madhya Pradesh transport department.

On Sunday, MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh said the state government will restrict the movement of people from Chhattisgarh to curb the spread of COVID-19. As per the transport department's order issued on Wednesday, the movement of passenger buses between MP and Chhattisgarh will remain suspended from April 7 to 15.

The decision has been taken in the public interest and to check the spread of the viral infection, the order said. The Madhya Pradesh government has already sealed the state's areas bordering Maharashtra, which has also witnessed a huge spike in COVID-19 cases.

With the detection of 9,921 fresh cases on Tuesday, Chhattisgarh saw its highest single-day spike since the outbreak of the infection in March last year, taking the state's caseload to 3,68,269, as per official figures.

The COVID-19 death toll in Chhattisgarh also rose to 4,416 as 53 more people succumbed to the disease on Tuesday. Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday reported 3,722 new cases of coronavirus, taking its tally to 3,13,971, while 18 fatalities pushed the death toll to 4,073, as per the state health department.