Farmers Movement Archive

No more than 50 allowed for indoor events, 100 for outdoor ones

The state government has capped the number of persons allowed for indoor events, such as weddings, political and religious functions, to 50, and the number of people for outdoor events to 100, in the six districts that fall in the National Capital Region. The decision was taken in view of the rising number of daily Covid-19 infections, said chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar during a press briefing on Tuesday in Chandigarh.The order will be effective from November 26, according to an official statement issued by the state administration. The decision comes a week after the Delhi government limited the number of people at gatherings to 50. Khattar on Tuesday took part in a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with chief ministers of seven other states — Delhi, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Kerala and Gujarat — through video conference. During the meeting with the PM on Tuesday noon, Khattar was interrupted by Modi while he was sharing Haryana’s Covid-19 figures. The PM said that the figures had already been presented and asked Khattar to share how he planned to control the spread of the coronavirus. Currently, Haryana is among the 10 states in the country that are reporting the maximum number of Covid-19 cases, which, in turn, has also led to increased mortality. The overall tally of the state has reached 222, 292 on Tuesday, of which 20,765 are active cases. The Covid-19 toll stands at 2,249, with 33 deaths recorded on Tuesday. The fatality rate of the state is 1.01%, while the recovery rate is 89.65%. The direction is applicable for Gurugram, Rewari, Faridabad, Rohtak, Sonepat and Hisar. In the remaining districts of the state, gatherings have been limited to 100 persons for indoor functions and 200 persons for outdoor ones, following the Central government’s guidelines.As per the official statement, Khattar said that the situation of Covid-19 in Haryana remained satisfactory in the first and second phase. “In the third wave of Covid-19, spurt in the number of cases has been registered in the past few days, especially in the districts adjoining the NCR, in view of the thick movement of people in the NCR,” said Khattar. He also said that police and urban local bodies have been directed to strictly enforce mask hygiene and penalise offenders. A fine of Rs 500 can be imposed on those who are found without masks. Also, 10 million masks would soon be distributed across the state. Khattar, however, said that there are no plans to impose night curfew. With regards to vaccine distribution, Khattar said that health care workers will get the first dose of vaccine.Also, in view of the ‘Dilli Chalo’ call given by various farmers’ organisations on November 26, to protest farm laws that were recently passed, the state administration has issued a comprehensive travel advisory for commuters. It stated that blockades can be faced at entry points from Punjab into Haryana and Haryana into Delhi, between November 25 and 27.Rajeev Arora, additional chief secretary, home department, said, “Haryana border connecting Punjab will be sealed completely, while traffic and security arrangements will be made at Delhi-Gurugram border.” Officials are expecting protesters are to enter Haryana from Punjab, through various border entry points, to reach Delhi. They will be taking four major national highways — Ambala to Delhi, Hisar to Delhi, Rewari to Delhi and Palwal to Delhi.

Hindustan Times

24-11-2020

Gurugram