Image Source: THE FEDERAL

Imams associates in West Bengal has written to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to extend the lockdown in the state till the end of May in the wake of an increase in the number of novel coronavirus cases.
In a letter to CM Mamata Banerjee, the Bengal Imams’ Association, a body of Islamic clerics in the state, wrote, “Let people survive first, festivities can wait.” The imams urged the Bengal government not to lift the lockdown before Eid, which is on May 25. According to the association's chairman Md Yahya, the state government may contemplate relaxing the lockdown post May 17 as Eid-ul-Fitr is on May 25. We request you to extend the lockdown at least till May 30. We have sacrificed a lot and we shall do so once again. We don’t need festivities, the letter stated. We demand that the lockdown should not be relaxed before May 30 at any cost. Rather, you should raise the same demand before the central government. Muslim leadership shall firmly stand by your administration, the letter further added. The copy of the letter has been circulated to all Muslim religious leaders across the state, the West Bengal Wakf Board, Bengal chapter of the Jamat-e-Islami Hind and Jamiat-e-Ulama Hind, West Bengal Hajj Committee and other Muslim organisations.