Coronavirus: Curfew to be imposed in Chandigarh from midnight

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 23

Punjab Governor V P Singh Badnore who is also UT Administrator has decided to impose curfew in Chandigarh starting intervening night of Monday and Tuesday till further orders.

With the imposition of curfew all the residents will be required to stay Indoors. The DGP has been given strict directions to enforce the curfew without any relaxation whatsoever.

Adviser Manoj Parida has said the individuals engaged in essential services, including police, medical, etc., will only be allowed curfew passes. Employees of Punjab, Haryana and Central Government will request for passes through their Chief Secretaries only.  The Deputy Commissioner, Chandigarh, will decide about the curfew passes. Moreover, the relaxation in curfew hours will be given for purchase of essential items in due course. The detailed orders are being issued by the Deputy Commissioner, UT, Chandigarh.

Parida said the Chandigarh Administration has tied up with Punjab and Haryana for continuous supply of essential commodities, including oxygen, LPG, petroleum products, etc.

Keeping in view the current situation, the Chandigarh Administration has decided that the last date of payment of dues for electricity bills, water bills and property tax has been extended till 15 April, 2020.

It has also been decided to requisition Sood Dharamshala where 125 isolated rooms with toilets are available to function as isolation ward, if necessary. 

A separate block of PGIMER (Nehru Block) has been designated as COVID Place for exclusively housing and treating coronavirus-affected patients. The newspaper distributors and hawkers have also been advised to follow hygiene standards and use protective gears for distribution of newspapers. 

The Administration has also taken up with Government of India for advance payment of ration money of two months under Public Distribution System in Chandigarh.  The Chandigarh Administration has decided to pay Rs 3,000 to each registered construction worker for loss of their income due to coronavirus. 

Further, a Control Room Number - 112 has been setup for answering the queries/calls made by public in Chandigarh. The Control Room will function 24 X 7. The senior officers of the Administration will be available around the clock and will coordinate with the department concerned to resolve the queries of the people of Chandigarh.

Today, till 5 pm total 100 calls queries were received in the control room. Most of queries were about opening of shops/offices, gathering of crowd, information about people who have returned from abroad.