Bhubaneswar: In view of the worsening Covid-19 situation in Odisha, the State government has decided to clamp the weekend shutdown in the urban centers of 10 districts bordering Chhattisgarh from today.
The weekend shutdown has been imposed in urban areas of Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Koraput, and Malkangiri districts in order to break the chain of the pandemic. Night curfew in these areas has also been extended from 9 pm to 5 am to 6 pm to 5 am.
The district administrations have sounded alert in the regions and urged people to comply with coronavirus guidelines to break the transmission chain.
“Strict enforcement of Covid-19 norms and people’s support can break the transmission chain. Legal action will be taken against the violators of the pandemic norms,” said Rourkela SP Mukesh Kumar Bhamoo.
Meanwhile, the Trade Association of Khadiala in Nuapada district has decided to shut all shops in the block for nine days starting from today. The shops dealing with essential commodities will only be allowed to open. The vegetable shops will open from 5 am till 10 pm.
Besides, night curfew will be imposed in urban areas of all the other 20 districts including Bhubaneswar and Cuttack from 9 pm to 5 am from today.
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Commission (BMC) has issued advisories for the citizens, urging them to abide by the Covid-19 guidelines strictly.
BMC Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary urged people in Bhubaneswar not to indulge in panic buying and stockpiling of essential items. He assured that there will no scarcity of resources and essential commodities in the markets.
Moreover, Commissionerate Police has made elaborate arrangements for the strict enforcement of night curfew in the Capital City.
Here are few pictures of the weekend shutdown clamped in the urban centers of several districts.