State restricts public gatherings to 5 persons in Gurugram and Faridabad

With four Covid-19 positive cases having been reported in the state until now, the state government on Friday decided to impose Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), restricting the public gathering to a maximum of five persons in Gurugram and Faridabad. For the other districts, the state has allowed a gathering of 20 persons.

According to a press statement issued by the state government, social distancing would be strictly ensured during the imposition of Section 144 of CrPC. The state home department on Friday issued a letter to all districts, advising that Section 144 of the CrPC be invoked.

The Gurugram administration has also geared up to ensure law and order during the ‘janta curfew’ advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from 7am to 9pm on Sunday. The administration on Friday appointed duty magistrates for 45 locations in the city, as per an order issued by Amit Khatri, the deputy commissioner.

“We will ensure that there is no violation of law and order in the city on March 22. As told by the Prime Minister, people are advised to remain at homes,” said Khatri.

As per the order, 39 duty magistrates have been appointed and six are in reserve. They will be coordinating with the SHOs and ACPs of their respective areas.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT TO BE SUSPENDED ON MARCH 22

The transport department has decided to suspend public transportation in the state from 7am to 9pm on March 22 and all employees and officials have been directed to stay home. The state has also decided that the general managers of Haryana Roadways in the districts would be authorised to decide on reducing the frequency of intrastate and interstate public transport after March 22, based upon the number of passengers on a day-to-day basis.

A senior administrative official at the Gurugram bus stand, on the condition of anonymity, said that all bus services to Punjab, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have been suspended, while orders to shut services to Jaipur in Rajasthan are expected. “We are also reducing services to Chandigarh. About 30% of all routes that start from Gurugram have been suspended. Most curbs were put in place on Thursday itself. On Friday, we stopped services to Haridwar in Uttarakhand. Only services within Haryana are running at the moment,” said the official.

The Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Limited (GMCBL) services will also be curtailed.

LOCAL MARKETS TO BE SHUT

The market associations in the city have decided to shut shop in the wake of ‘janta curfew’. Rakesh Malik, vice-president, Sector 22 market association, said, “We will observe a complete bandh on Sunday, in view of the curfew.”

Neeraj Yadav, president, Galleria market association, said, “We have not received any directive from the government regarding shutting the market, but as a precautionary measure, shopkeepers have decided to close shops on Saturday and Sunday.” Other markets — Sadar Bazar, Sector 14 market, Sector 37 market and Vyapar Kendra — will also remain shut.

However, the Haryana agriculture marketing board (HAMB) is still waiting for orders on shutting vegetable and grain mandi of the district. “We might receive an order on Saturday,” said Vinay Yadav, secretary, HAMB.

POLICE FORM SPECIAL TASK FORCE

Mohammed Akil, the commissioner of police, has constituted a special task force of 28 police personnel. Subash Boken, spokesperson, city police, said, “The task force will guard the quarantine centres and isolation wards set up by the health department. They will look after the law and order situation at these centres. Each member of this force will be provided with masks, sanitisers and other essential equipment. Every 10 days, a different team of 28 will be deployed.”

Akil also held a meeting with priests of places of worship across the city and appealed to them to take adequate measures to sanitise their premises to prevent the spread of the virus.