Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Apr 9: With the spike in the COVID-19 cases, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Dr Shahid Iqbal Chaudhary, today said that there will be strict restrictions in Srinagar city from tomorrow to fight the coronavirus.
The Deputy Commissioner told a news conference that 3-4 days are crucial after which administration will be able to judge in which direction situation was going. “From tomorrow, there will be intensified lockdown. No relaxations to anybody. One pass will be entertained for one person only. All the entry points in these areas have been sealed barring a few which are meant to facilitate employees on essential duty and to ensure supply of essentials,” the DC Srinagar said.
He said that Srinagar district has been divided into 25 zones and there will be around 5000 Government officials deployed across the district for resolving the day to day issues of people. “Each zone will have a nodal officer to oversee that peoples’ problems are redressed”, he said.
He appealed people to stick to the lockdown stating that some 800 people didn’t disclose their travel history. “If they would have not done so, perhaps the situation would have been better at this juncture. Next three to four days are crucial. We will be able to take a call in which direction we are heading to,” he said.
He said that due to robust contact tracing, all of them have been traced one by one. “Had they come forward earlier, perhaps the situation would not have been same at we are in today. One COVID-19 positive can infect 100 person and then there becomes a chain”, he said.
The DC urged religious leaders and elders of every locality to persuade people not to venture out and to adhere to the guidelines laid by the Government that are aimed at preventing the spread of the pandemic.
He also made an appeal to the government employees who are posted out of Srinagar to stay in the areas where they are posted. He assured the people that there was no shortage of life saving drugs while as 70 per cent district has been covered by the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution department under “ration at door steps program” far and that the process is still on.
“We have lifesaving drugs for 5-6 weeks in Kashmir and almost every alternate day, special aircraft lands in Srinagar with lifesaving and other drugs,” he said.
The DC said that more than 11, 000 non-local labouers who are in Kashmir are being provided with the free food.
The SSP Srinagar Dr Haseeb Mughal on the occasion urged people to cooperate with the police who are deployed round the clock on roads and streets of Srinagar just for the safety of people. “This time, it’s not a fight against militancy or that the police force is not dealing with any law and order issue,” he said.
“This lockdown is totally different from the previous ones but people here follow same old habit of coming out of their homes in the evening in large numbers, when deployment is thinned down”, he said.
The SSP also urged people not to hide their travel history. “It’s a social issue and we have to collectively deal with it,” he said.
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