News Analysis India

Tag: Raipur Lockdown

  • Raipur Municipal Corporation distributes ration packets to 7000 needy families daily

    By Express News Service
    RAIPUR: Amid the second wave of Covid-19 crisis, the Raipur Municipal Corporation (RMC) in Chhattisgarh is reaching out to the poor and needy to meet their pressing need of food. 

    Over a 100 packets are distributed in each of the 70 wards of the RMC daily.

    The ongoing lockdown in the state capital has mostly affected the poor and the marginalised sections of the society.

    “During the present challenging situation several underprivileged and daily wage earners are facing hardships. With lockdown restrictions still continuing, we planned to identify the poor and needy and our team ensures ration packet reaches them. The basic food requirement of particularly those who lost their livelihoods should be met,” said Aijaz Dhebhar, RMC Mayor.

    Raipur has further extended the lockdown till May 17 morning with some relaxations.

    “Except my mother who was into stitching job to eke out a living for the family, we have no other source. Now everything remains closed during lockdown,” said Tripti Bhushan one of the recipients of the ration packets.

    “It’s the poor who always face the adversities during a lockdown,” said Damru Dhar, a rickshaw-puller.

    Each ration kit consists of 5 kg rice, 2 kg wheat flour, a pack of oil and salt, some spices, onion, potatoes and lentils.

  • COVID lockdown in Raipur district from April 9 to 19 amid soaring cases

    By PTI
    RAIPUR: In view of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, the Chhattisgarh government on Wednesday announced a lockdown in Raipur district with effect from April 9 to 19, an official said.

    Raipur Collector S Bharathi Dasan has issued the order declaring the entire area of the district, including the state capital, as a containment zone and restricted several activities from 6 pm on April 9 till 6 am on April 19.

    Because of the steady rise in COVID-19 cases, it has become necessary to impose stricter restrictions on the movement of people and other activities to contain the spread of infection, the collector said in a press conference.

    Accordingly, during the lockdown period, the border of the district will be completely sealed and all shops, including those selling liquor, and commercial establishments will remain closed except medical stores.

    ALSO READ | Madhya Pradesh to restrict movement of people from Chhattisgarh: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

    Offices of Central government, state government, semi-government, as well as private offices and banks will remain closed while those related to telecom, railway and airports will be allowed to function, the order said.

    All religious, cultural and tourism spots will remain shut and all kinds of public meetings, social, religious and political programmes will be banned during this period, it said.

    Hospitals and ATMs have been kept out of the purview of the lockdown, it said.

    Delivery of milk and newspapers will be allowed from 6 am to 8 am and between 5 pm and 6:30 pm.

    Home delivery of LPG cylinders is also allowed during the lockdown period.

    Industrial units and construction units will be allowed to function provided they accommodate workers in their respective premises and provide other necessary facilities, it said.

    Activities to contain the spread of the infection, including contact tracing, active surveillance, home isolation, distribution of medicine will continue, and all government employees related to these services will have to report to duty, as per the order.

    There will be no restriction on the people visiting centres for COVID-19 vaccination or for getting themselves tested, it said.

    ALSO READ | COVID-19: Centre rushes 50 high-level public health teams to Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Punjab

    Public transport services, including taxis and auto-rickshaws, will only be allowed to ply for railway stations, the airport, bus stands and hospitals, it said.

    “This order will not be effective on the offices of Divisional Commissioner, Range IG, Collector, SP, ADM, Additional SP, Treasury, Chief Medical and Health Officer and offices functioning under them.

    However, the entry of common people will be prohibited in these offices during the lockdown period,” it stated.

    Petrol pump operators will provide fuel only to government vehicles engaged in official work, ATM cash vans, ambulances and privates vehicles on a medical emergency, autorickshaws and taxis operated for railway stations, airport and inter-state bus stands, vehicles possessing e-pass, exams aspirants possessing admit cards, media persons and newspaper hawkers, it said.

    Raipur had reported 76,427 COVID-19 cases, including 1,001 deaths till Tuesday.

    The number of active cases is 13,107.

    In the last six days, the district witnessed 10,755 new cases and 93 deaths.

  • Chhattisgarh: Record single-day spike of 5,818 COVID-19 cases; partial lockdown in Raipur from Sunday

    By PTI
    RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh reported 5,818 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the state’s highest single-day spike, taking the count of infections to 3,63,796, an official said.

    The toll rose by 36 during the day to touch 4,283 and the recovery count was 3,23,201 as 52 people were discharged from hospitals and 1,120 completed home isolation, he added.

    The state now has 36,312 active cases, the official said.

    “Raipur and Durg districts accounted for 2,287 and 857 of the new cases. While Raipur has 70,691 cases, including 939 deaths, Durg’s tally stands at 41,889, with 781 deaths. Bilaspur saw 342 new cases, Rajnandgaon 341 and Mahasamund 303. Of the deaths reported during the day, 12 took place on Saturday, 19 on Friday and five earlier,” he said.

    With 40,875 samples being examined on Saturday, the total number of tests in the state went up to 58,73,615.

    State Health Minister TS Singh Deo and Agriculture Minister Ravindra Choubey on Saturday chaired a meeting of senior officials to review measures being taken to prevent the spread of the infection.

    They directed officials to arrange for more beds with oxygen facility in Raipur, increase the number of tests, speed up contact tracing and monitor home isolation compliance.

    In the meeting, Priyanka Shukla, the state’s Director for National Health Mission said there were 4,051 beds in 33 dedicated COVID hospitals in the state, which includes 1,341 beds with oxygen facility, 438 HDU (high dependency unit) and 440 ICU (intensive care unit) beds.

    Similarly, the 65 COVID care centres have a total of 8,780 beds, including 1,087 beds with oxygen facilities, and 78 private hospitals have 3,134 beds, including 1,052 with oxygen facilities, she said.

    Chhattisgarh’s coronavirus figures are as follows: Positive cases 3,63,796, New cases 5,818, Deaths 4,283, Recovered 3,23,201, Active cases 36,312, Tests today 40,875, Total tests 58,73,615.

    Meanwhile, in Raipur, the administration has ordered the closure of weekly markets, gyms, and swimming pools, beginning Sunday, an official said on Saturday.

    The administration also ordered that shops and business establishments in urban areas of the district will remain open in staggered timings while cinema halls and multiplexes will have to be shut by 8 pm.

    On Saturday, Raipur collector S Bharathi Dasan issued fresh guidelines which will come into effect in Raipur and Birgaon municipal corporations and other civic bodies of the district from Sunday, the public relations department official said.

    As per the order, the operation of all kinds of temporary and permanent shops, shopping malls, departmental stores, business establishments and food carts will be allowed to remain open from 6 am to 6 pm while restaurants, dhabas and hotels can function between 6 am and 8 pm.

    Earlier, the district administration had allowed shops to function till 9 pm and permitted restaurants, hotels and dhabas to remain open till 10 pm for indoor dining.

    “All weekly markets, gyms and swimming pools will remain closed till further orders. Cinema halls and multiplexes have been allowed to operate till 8 pm while liquor shops will be opened till 6 pm in the district,” the order said.

    Petrol pumps and medicine stores have been exempted from the new set of restrictions, it said.

    All businessmen, their employees and customers will have to wear masks and ensure strict compliance with the social distancing protocol in the business premises.

    Violation of guidelines would result in the closure of concerned shops for 15 days and attract legal action, the order said.

    Raipur district’s caseload stood at 68,404, including 930 deaths, until April 2.

    The number of active cases in the district stands at 8,437, as per the official data.

    The local administration had already imposed section 144 of the CrPc, which bans the assembly of four or more people, in several districts, including Raipur, Durg, Bastar, Rajnandgaon, Bilaspur and had also announced various restrictions to contain the spread of the infection.