Share prices of multiplex chains INOX Leisure and PVR dipped 8% each after the Maharashtra government on Sunday declared a total weekend lockdown in the state till April 30 amid an alarming rise in Covid-19 cases in the state.
As per the Bombay Stock Exchange, while share prices of PVR declined by 8.5%, INOX Leisure saw a dip of 8%.
The prices dropped after the announcement that shopping malls, theatres, video clubs, gaming centres, cinema halls, and other entertainment zones will remain shut for the rest of the month after the sudden spike of Covid cases in the state. This will be the second time that the cinema halls will take a hit due to the pandemic. They were shut from March 2020 to mid-October 2020 owing to the nationwide lockdown.
According to the state’s health department, Sunday saw the highest number of daily cases in 2020, standing at 57,074. Out of the 10 cities that account for 50% of the total Covid-19 cases in the country, eight are from Maharashtra- Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur, Thane, Nashik, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar and Nanded.
The lockdown on weekends will be implemented from 8 pm on Fridays till 7 am on Mondays.
Prohibitory orders will be in force during daytime on weekdays, the chief minister’s office said in a statement. Except for essential services shops, medical shops and grocery shops, all other shops, markets and shopping malls will be closed till April 30. The state government imposed night curfew and Section 144, under which no more than five people will be allowed to gather in public places. During the weekdays, no one is allowed to move in public places without a valid reason.
Recommended
While medical stores, hospitals, essentials stores, and transportation will keep functioning, all entertainment activities have been brought to a halt. Filming or shooting of films is allowed across the country under certain regulations.
Big-banner films like Akshay Kumar’s Sooryavanshi, Rana Daggubati’s Haathi Mere Saathi and Ranveer Singh’s 83, have postponed their release dates.
The state government’s decision comes amid the Multiplex Association of India and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry requesting Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray not to impose another lockdown in the state.