Officials say Govt weighing options on prolonging Lockdown in J&K
Ishtiyaq Ahmed
Srinagar, March 22: To ensure that all the possible and available means available with the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory (UT) are utilised properly to defeat the spread of Covid-19, Lieutenant Governor Girish Chander Murmu is keeping all the officers both from administration and the health department on toes and is seeking minute by minute updates.
Reliable sources in the Rajbhavan Jammu revealed to news agency that LG Murmu is in touch with all the concerned officials including Divisional Commissioners of Kashmir and Jammu regions and also with the Deputy Commissioners of Srinagar and Jammu through video conferencing. “He is seeking minute by minute updates, progress on works assigned, facilities for quarantine and screening of patients in both Kashmir and Jammu region from the officials concerned,” an official privy to the development disclosed.
The LG Murmu has kept all the officials on toes in both regions of the UT and is keen to ensure that whatever best the UT administration can do to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, is done in the best possible way. “Every hour, fresh directions are passed by the LG Murmu to Kashmir and Jammu officials while as advisor Baseer Ahmed Khan has been directed to utilize every service available to fight the Coronavirus,” the official said.
At present, LG Murmu is in touch with the officials on phone and also through video conference. “Every evening, he chairs a brief meeting of officials through video conferencing facility to know the details and progress about measures taken on ground zero,” he said.
Meanwhile, reliable sources also revealed that the LG Murmu led administration is seriously deliberating whether to extend the lockdown in the larger interests of people of J&K as done by South Korea where mortality rate decreased considerably as people there went into hibernation. “Yes, there are deliberations going on what steps need to be further taken. The Government is weighing options and one of the suggestions is to prolong the lockdown for a week or fortnight,” an official close to LG Murmu said. On Sunday, on the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “Janata Curfew” was observed across India including J&K.
However, curbs also remained in places in Srinagar and elsewhere to ensure curfew remains enforced. Pertinently, in Kashmir, there is only one positive case of Covid-19, who had a history of travel to Saudi Arabia even as official figures suggest that over 4000 are under surveillance at various places across J&K reported KINS.
