The 84-hour-long Coronavirus-induced lockdown will be in force in 11 districts of the Union Territory from Thursday evening.
SRINAGAR (J&K) —
Starting from 7 PM on Thursday, authorities have announced an 84-hour-long lockdown in 11 districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
The lockdown shall remain in force in Srinagar, Anantnag, Baramulla, Budgam, Kulgam, Pulwama, Ganderbal, Jammu, Kathua, Reasi and Udhampur districts till 7 AM on Monday. Most of the Deputy Commissioners took to Twitter to announce the lockdown for their respective districts.
“There will be Complete Lockdown in Srinagar District from 7:00 pm Thursday (29/04/2021) to 7:00 am Monday (03/05/2021). Exemptions apply to essential services. Detailed order shall follow,” said Deputy Commissioner, Mohammad Aijaz Asad, in a tweet.
The declaration came a day after the administration ordered the imposition of Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which prohibits gatherings of five or more people, in the summer capital of J&K.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar, Sandeep Choudhary while talking to the media persons said that police and other security forces have been deployed on the roads to impose Section 144 CrPC in letter and spirit with an aim to prevent the virus from spreading further. Similarly, other deputy commissioners announced the curbs on their official Twitter handles.
“Complete Lockdown in District Jammu from 7:00 pm Thursday (29/04/2021) to 7:00 AM Monday (03/05/2021). Exemptions only for essential services,” DC Jammu said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, the Government on Tuesday said that teaching and non-teaching staff was not required for any educational establishment in Jammu and Kashmir.
Staff Of Educational Institutes To Work From Home
Top officials of the State Executive Committee informed that the teaching and non-teaching staff of all schools, colleges, technical education and skill development institutes was not required in-person.
The official said that the staff shall work from home and the decision was taken in view of surge in COVID-19 cases across Jammu and Kashmir.
Also, the Shiite religious scholars have joined hands and appealed people to avoid congregational gatherings and follow COVID-19 related guidelines in letter and spirit.
Both factions of Anjuman Shari Shian-led by Aga Syed Hasan and Aga Syed Hadi and Majlis Ulema Imamia Jammu and Kashmir, that is an amalgam of multiple Shiite associations, have asked people to stay away from large religious gatherings on coming to Shab-e-Qadar. They have cancelled Friday congregational prayers till the effect of the pandemic recedes.
Masjids And Shrines To Open To Limited Namazis
However, the Wakf Board on Wednesday said that Masjids and shrines have not been closed for prayers in the Valley, but a limited number of ‘Namazis’ should offer prayers at the religious places. But, the Board appealed to people to offer prayers at home in wake of the spurt in the COVID-19 cases. Earlier, the J&K administration had announced a 34-hour-long curfew from 8 PM on Saturday.
On April 8, a night curfew from 10 PM to 6 AM was imposed in the urban areas of eight districts, which was extended to the municipal and urban local body limits of all the 20 districts on April 20 and duration was increased by two hours subsequently.
It is pertinent to mention here that J&K UT reported a record 3164 fresh positive cases of novel Coronavirus with 25 persons succumbing to the virus in last 24 hours on Tuesday, as per the government’s daily figure.
On Wednesday, the UT reported 3023 fresh COVID-19 cases even as 30 more people succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours, the highest ever fatality count reported in a single day so far. There are 24,313 active cases of Coronavirus in the UT, with 9,518 in Jammu and 14,795 in Kashmir.
