Srinagar admin resorts to 'shutdown' to shield Valley from corona

The Srinagar district administration on Tuesday announced a slew of additional measures, including plans of televised classes for students, to ensure that there is no outbreak of coronavirus in the city and the Valley.

District Magistrate Srinagar Shahid Iqbal Chaudhary issued a three-page order listing various dos and don'ts for people for curbing the COVID-19 spread in the city and the rest of the Valley.

While all educational institutions in the city have been closed till further orders, the district administration on Tuesday directed the head of the departments and institutions to devise and submit proposals for televised classes for students by 20 March.

The district administration will support and finance these televised classes, the order said.

The administration has also directed shutdown of all hostels, canteens, parks, gardens, restaurants and roadside eateries in the city till further orders. The home delivery of food has also been banned.

According to the order, conferences, workshops, rallies and sit-in protests will not be allowed in the city till March 31 while the management of community halls have been directed not to take any booking for any function, be it religious or social.

The gyms, saloons, spas and clubs are also closed till further orders.

The administration has directed all tour operators and travel agents to declare details of all bookings made by them for passengers undertaking international and domestic air travel.

Overloading of passengers in public transport vehicles too has been banned and the administration has directed the traffic police to seize any vehicle found overloaded.

Besides reiterating earlier directions about self-declaration and home- quarantine for those with travel history to corona-hit countries, the administration said it will undertake GIS mapping of all cases including suspects, those under surveillance, quarantined and isolated.

This will also include those tested for coronavirus infliction irrespective of the outcome of the test and the data shall be maintained at the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).