Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb has asked the people of the state to suggest 100 ideas for his government’s initiative to recover the losses due to the lockdown.

A video message of Deb was circulated from his office on Friday.

“I request each and every person of the state to suggest 100 ideas about the state government’s initiative to recover its loss due to the lockdown. It should be provided before the lockdown is lifted. You can share ideas with the chief minister’s office mail address or send a WhatsApp text message to administrative officers. We may receive thousands of ideas, but we will choose the best 100 of them.”

Deb added that those from Tripura who attended Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi were sent to quarantine and till now, none of them have been found to be Covid-19 positive.

A re-test would be conducted to confirm it.

Deb has ordered sealing od the state’s border with Assam.

Each and every vehicle carrying essential commodities will be screened properly before it enters the state.

Meanwhile, additional director-general of police (law and order) Rajiv Singh told The Telegraph that 165 people had been arrested and more than Rs 3.5 lakh in fines imposed for contravening lockdown regulations in Tripura.

“The situation is good so far and we are taking strict action against the persons who are violating the lockdown regulations. The virus has already spread globally and as of now, not a single positive case has been reported in the state of Tripura. But some people, especially youths, are going out from their homes,” Singh said.

“Some people have started violating the lockdown and we have started taking strict action against them. We are also helping them during emergencies. A total of six FIRs have been registered with us in different police stations across the state against the violators. We have arrested around 165 people regarding such incidents. We have also seized more than nine motor bikes,” Deb said.

Singh said Tripura police have already taken many initiatives to ensure the lockdown.

“We are also taking strict action against the persons who are violating the lockdown. The grocery and medicine shops are also cooperating with us. We are keeping a close eye on the border. All the borders are sealed and only essential goods are coming. We are checking each and every truck. We need to work together in combating the spread of Covid-19,” Singh said.

Singh said the police are also providing food to homeless people and attendants in all the district hospitals across the state. “We are also providing food to stray animals. We have also allowed vegetable vendors with their carts and autos in the colonies across the state so that people do not come out. We will continue to monitor and encourage people to comply,” the top cop said.

Salim Shah, assistant professor of economics, Tripura University, said it was too early to think about recovering losses owing to the lockdown.

“It should be public compulsion to give back to the society, particularly to the vulnerable people, as they will suffer a lot during this period. The question of recovery is not the primary issue now. Support to the poor and needy people is more important,” Shah said.

Shah also pointed out that recovery of losses can be done only through a longterm strategy.

“For Tripura, use of local resources and locking the revenue from the local market is more important,” he said.