BENGALURU: The All India Defence Employees Federation (AIDEF), which represents about 4 lakh employees working in various defence establishments including ordnance factories, army workshops, shipping docks, has requested that all industrial establishments be closed until March 31 in the wake of Covid-19.In a letter to the defence secretary, the union has explained that since there is no scope of working from home and the employees at factories work standing or sitting very close to each other, the ministry must consider declaring a holiday.C Srikumar, general secretary, AIDEF, told TOI: "The situation appears to be very serious, especially in Maharashtra which has 10 ordnance factories, including in Pune. Our request, therefore, is aimed at preventing the spread of the virus."The letter further elaborated that most defence workers travel by public transport from far off areas. "Since multiple government directives already point to the importance of social distancing, we see this as the only option," Srikumar said.The union has further request that the ministry extend the time set for meeting of production targets beyond March 31. "If the factories are to be given a holiday until further assessment on March 31, it will surely affect production. So, we've also requested that the deadline be relaxed for meeting of targets. It has to spillover to April or May depending on the situation," Srikumar added.The health of the civilian defence employees, who act as the backbone of the armed forces, the union argued was paramount. "It is important that this workforce remains healthy and we therefore request that the ministry considers closure of units until March 31," they said.