NEW DELHI: The states of Maharashtra, Punjab, West Bengal, Telangana, Bihar and Assam have demanded strict lockdown to be further extended to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

PM Narendra Modi, in a video conference, which lasted for nearly six hours, held extensive discussions on various aspects of the situation arising out of the pandemic and the nationwide lockdown. He said that the country will have to devise a balanced strategy to revive the economy and deal with COVID-19 with a sharp focus on ensuring that rural areas remain free from the pandemic.

"We have a two-fold challenge – to reduce the transmission rate of the disease, and to increase public activity gradually, while adhering to all the guidelines, and we will have to work towards achieving both these objective," the PM told the chief ministers at the virtual interaction, fifth such meet since the outbreak of the pandemic in India.

Referring to the resumption of train services from Tuesday, Modi said, this is needed to rev up the economic activity, but said that all the routes will not be resumed and only a limited number of trains would ply.

In the conference, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami came out against the resumption of flight and passenger train services till May 31, citing increasing cases of coronavirus. The view was also reflected by Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh pitched for the extension of the coronavirus lockdown, but demanded a carefully crafted exit strategy providing fiscal support to states.

Reacting to the Centre's decision to resume a limited number of passenger services from Tuesday after an almost a 50-day hiatus, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on one hand, it wants strict enforcement of the lockdown, on the other, it is resuming train services.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray urged Modi to show "specific and concrete direction" on the lockdown.

The PM last interacted with the CMs on April 27. Days after the meeting, the central government had extended the lockdown by two more weeks till May 17 to arrest the spread of the virus, but gave several relaxations in economic activities and movement of people.

The PM will address the nation at 8 pm on Tuesday.

Also Read: PM Modi To CMs: Lockdown To Continue But With Relaxations Outside Hotspots