News Analysis India

Tag: Uttarakhand Lockdown

  • Negative Covid test report, online registration: Uttarakhand issues new guidelines for tourists

    By PTI
    DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government on Monday extended the coronavirus lockdown imposed in the state by another week till July 20, and authorised district magistrates to cap the number of tourists visiting popular destinations in their jurisdictions on weekends if necessary.

    While a negative Covid test report not older than 72 hours and a registration on the smart city portal are mandatory for tourists, district magistrates are authorised to put a limit on weekend visitors in their jurisdictions considering the geographical conditions and the tourist inflow, the latest guidelines issued by Chief Secretary S S Sandhu said.

    Covid-appropriate behaviour like wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing must be maintained strictly at all places and violators penalised, the order said.

    Other relaxations that have been granted already are going to continue, it added.

    Commercial establishments will be open from 8 am to 7 pm daily and closed on Sundays.

    Hotels and restaurants can open for dining at 50 per cent capacity.

    Coaching centres for job aspirants, malls and gyms can also open at 50 per cent capacity.

    Cinema halls, swimming pools and entertainment parks etc will, however, remain closed, the guidelines said.

  • COVID-19 curfew extended for another week in Uttarakhand

    By PTI
    DEHRADUN: COVID curfew in Uttarakhand has been extended by another week till July 6 with more relaxations. An order issued by Chief Secretary Om Prakash said that the extended curfew, which came into effect on Tuesday, will remain in force till 6 am on July 6.

    Giving more relaxations, shops and business establishments have been allowed to open six days a week instead of five. They will remain open even on Sundays in the two popular tourist spots of Mussoorie and Nainital, the order said.

    Markets in these towns will remain closed on Tuesday. Gyms and coaching centres for job aspirants have also been allowed to open with 50 per cent occupancy. However, educational institutions, training institutes, malls and cinema halls will remain closed till further orders. Permission for online classes and distance learning remains in place.

    Registering on the smart city portal at the start of their journey and bringing a negative RT-PCR or Rapid Antigen test report not older than 72 hours will be compulsory for people coming to the state from outside or those going to hill areas from the plains.

    Hotels, restaurants and roadside eateries can open with 50 per cent of their capacity.

  • Former Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat urges incumbent to re-open Char Dham Yatra

    Express News Service
    UTTARAKHAND: Former Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat who was ousted before completing his term in March this year has written a letter to incumbent CM Tirath Singh Rawat ‘advising’ him to open Char Dham Yatra.

    The letter by the former CM dated May 31, 2021 stated that keeping in mind the livelihood of people associated with tourism sector including religious tourism, the state government should allow vaccinated tourists to travel in the state.

    The former CM also urged the CM to start adventure tourism and ensure vaccination of people associated with the sector among other suggestions. Sources from the government told The New Indian Express that the letter has been received but denied to confirm any development in connection to the issues raised in the letter.

    However, officials of the state government last month had said that the Yatra can be opened for selected districts of Uttarakhand only if the COVID-19 situation further improves. The yatra has been suspended this year with only rituals allowed to be performed by the priests to uphold the tradition. 

    Last year, the yatra started for pilgrims of Uttarakhand on July 1, 2020 while for the pilgrims from outside the state the yatra was opened on the last week of July 2020.  In comparison to 2019, when more than 38 lakh pilgrims visited the Char Dham, numbers came down to 4.2 lakh in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.

    Earlier last month, Uttarakhand High Court, commenting on the Mahakumbh and Char Dham Yatra, said that Uttarakhand is causing embarrassment to its own people and questioned why the state cannot learn from its mistakes. 

    Last year, as religious tourism has got hit badly in Uttarakhand due to the COVID-19 pandemic, priests from Haridwar opted for odd jobs including working as factory workers. Many priests from the holy city including the ‘Ganga Temple’ at Har ki Pairi have opted to work in factories in evening shift to sustain themselves. 

    The pandemic hit religious institutions so hard that providing salaries and ration became difficult for the temples in Haridwar. Meanwhile, with declining number of active cases in Uttarakhand demands from the hoteliers and people associated with the sector have started emerging. 

    Praveen Sharma, president of Nainital Hotel and Restaurants Association said, “The government has not been helping and we have to sustain ourselves. It is not two years in row we are suffering losses. This effects livelihood of lakhs of people in Uttarakhand. The government should open tourism in phased manner and allow those who have been vaccinated already.”

  • COVID-19 curfew restrictions extended till June 1 in Uttarakhand

    By PTI
    DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government on Monday extended the COVID-19 related curfew period across the state till June 1.

    The period of the ongoing curfew in the state was scheduled to come to an end at 6 am on Tuesday morning.

    Giving the information here, Cabinet Minister and the state government’s spokesman Subodh Uniyal said shops dealing in essential commodities like milk, meat, fish, fruits and vegetables will open daily for three hours from 8 am to 11 am during the period.

    The timings for the opening of shops have been changed in accordance with the demands of businessmen and traders after discussions with Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat, he said.

    The earlier timings for the opening of shops selling essentials was 7 am to 10 am.

    However, PDS outlets and grocery shops will be opened for four hours only on May 28 from 8 am to 12 pm.

    Though COVID-19 cases in the state have begun to show a declining trend both in terms of positivity and mortality rates, the state government has extended the curfew as it does not want to take any chances, Uniyal said.

    The safety of people is the state government’s main priority and a relaxation in curfew may be considered in future only if there is a further drop in the infection and mortality tally, he said.

  • Corona curfew in three Uttarakhand districts extended till May 10

    By PTI
    DEHRADUN: In view of the fresh surge in COVID-19 cases, curfew has been extended in the three heavy caseload districts of Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar in Uttarakhand till May 10.

    The district magistrates of Dehradun, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar are directed to enforce the curfew throughout the district from May 6 to May 10 (till 5 am), Chief Secretary, Om Prakash, said in an order.

    The curfew, which was imposed in the last week of April, was earlier scheduled to end this morning.

    The order asked the DMs of the remaining 10 districts to assess the situation in their areas and impose curfew from May 6 to May 10 (till 5 am), if required.

    However, there shall be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods during the period, the order said.

    All industries, goods, vehicles, construction work and other essential services will be allowed to operate during the curfew, it said.

    Ration shops will open on alternate days, while milk booths and vegetable shops will be allowed to operate till only 12 pm  daily.

    All district magistrates are authorised to issue district specific guidelines as per their assessment.

    All government offices shall be open during the period.

    All concerned are directed to ensure compliance of the guidelines and direct all authorities concerned for its strict implementation, the order said.

    Uttarakhand recorded its highest caseload in a day with the detection of 7783 fresh infections on Wednesday with Dehradun reporting the highest number of 2,771 cases, Udham Singh Nagar 1043 and Haridwar 599.

    As many as 127 other infected people have died.