While many districts in the state have been in the green zone, the pandemic just slipped out of the hands of the Agra administration. When asked what went wrong in that top tourist spot, the Deputy CM said that one of the reasons was obviously the Tablighi Jamaat, whose members were instrumental in spreading the virus. Secondly, a private hospital in Agra mismanaged the show.

“The carelessness on part of the hospital management cost us dearly. But the government acted in time. We constituted a three-member committee comprising a Principal Secretary-level officer, an ADG-level police officer and a senior health officer to take stock of the situation. The committee has contained the spread (of the coronavirus) in Agra to considerable extent,” said Maurya, known for effective planning and execution of large scale projects.

During the nation-wide lockdown, Uttar Pradesh was one of the few states which provided jobs to labourers and skilled workers by launching Gvernment-run construction projects. On being asked about the scale of job opportunities and nature of work, Maurya revealed that over 1 lakh skilled and unskilled laborers have been provided jobs.