Jharsuguda: The district administration announced a complete seven-day shutdown in the Jharsuguda town beginning from August 30 in view of the spike in COVID-19 cases.
This order will be revised again on September 3. While there will not be any weekend shutdown during this period, other measures with regard to social distancing and night curfew and hours of business as ordered previously will be enforced.
Here is the order as released by Jharsuguda Collectorate:
1-Jharsuguda town in entirety will be shutdown for seven days i.e. from 30.8.2020 to 5.9.2020. On all these days sale of grocery items, vegetables, milk, egg, fish and other non-veg products will take place from 6.00 AM to 11.00 AM.
2-Medicine shops will remain operational as usual.
3-Except for medical emergency and allowed activities, the only pedestrian movement will be allowed in the permitted hours.
4-Since Industries will be allowed to operate, the authorities concerned will ensure the bus movement of workers as they do on the days of weekend shutdown. Banks will remain open and the Bank authorities will have to ensure social distancing both among themselves and the customers. No other ordinary movement will be allowed except to and from the Airport and Railway Station. Railway and Bank employees will move to their workplaces by their own conveyance including two-wheelers only on production of Identity Card.
5-Movement for maintenance of other essential services like Telecom, Cable network, water supply, sanitation, cleaning (Municipality), repair of home appliances will be allowed. However, the persons, concerned have to testify adequately to this effect.
6-All shop/business establishments except the ones allowed in the given hours will remain closed.
The order included special guidelines for M/s. Bhusan Steel & Power Ltd. Employees. It said that only 1/3rd employees of BSPL staying in Jharsuguda whose list has already been obtained by the Jharsuguda administration will be home quarantined for ten days from September 3rd onwards. This arrangement of 10 days compulsory quarantine for the rest of the 2/3rd employees of BSPL residing in Jharsuguda will be materialized in the subsequent two phases.
The Home Quarantine will be identified with stickering and in this period the family members of the concerned employees will remain limited to their premises unless there is exigency warranting eventual outing. In the period of quarantine, they will undergo active door-step surveillance and if necessary, a test of the swab.
There will be strict enforcement of the order. Acts of violation will invite heavy monetary penalty, besides being sued under appropriate sections of IPC. Penalties will also be imposed for offences such as not wearing mask, unauthorized movement, violation of social distancing, the opening of shops, spitting in public place etc which will tantamount to deterrence.
