Bhadrak: Exercising the power of district Collector, a woman sarpanch announced a five-day shutdown in her panchayat due to rising Covid-19 cases in her area in Bhadrak district.
Sarpanch of Gelapur gram panchayat Manasi Rout said she has taken the decision following a discussion with residents, local bazaar committees and traders.
The daily covid-19 cases continue to surge in Nalanga village under the panchayat which forced the panchayat head to impose the stringent restrictions.
Also Read
As per the order, all commercial establishments except emergency shops like medicines and others will remain closed till further order. A bank in Nalanga market will also remain closed during the period.
The decision has been taken in order to break the chain of infections in the panchayat.
The shutdown will come into force from May 24 and will continue till May 28.
The guidelines of the shutdown have been announced through loudspeaker to make public aware. People have been requested to stay indoors during the period and make the shutdown a success.
Nalanga is a revenue village having four wards under Belapur panchayat. Due to violation of social distancing norms in the market area, the Covid cases in the pachayat witnessed a surge, the sarpanch said.
“In order to check the rising trend, I used the power of Collector conferred upon me and announced a five-day shutdown after discussing with the local intellectuals. I hope the restrictions may help decrease the mounting coronavirus cases in the panchayat,” Rout added.
The decision has also been apprised to the local administration and police, she said.
Last month, sarpanch of Chandahandi Sadar in Nabarangpur district had also imposed shutdown restriction in his panchayat following a sudden surge in Covid cases in some villages under the panchayat bordering Chhattisgarh.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had delegated the powers of district Collectors to the panchayat heads in their respective jurisdiction last year to fight Covid pandemic. The government had delegated the power to them under section 51 of Disaster Management Act 2005, and Odisha Covid-19 regulation 2020.