Gaya admn likely to ease lockdown

GAYA: The complete lockdown in parts of Gaya district that came into effect on August 1 will be reviewed on Friday.

While relaxations as per the Union home ministry guidelines came into effect elsewhere in the state on August 1, the restrictions imposed by state home department on July 16 were extended in Gaya town, Tekari, Sherghati, Khizarsarai and Bodh Gaya nagar panchayat area.

The closure of all shops, excluding those dealing in grocery items, medicine, construction material including hardware and agricultural equipment was ordered for a week beginning August 1.

The limited extension of the lockdown in the urban and semi urban areas of the district, according to DM Abhishek Singh, was necessitated by the surge in the number of Covid positive cases in the district. The number of active cases recorded in the district came down to 76 on Wednesday from a peak of 145 registered on July 28.

Hinting at the likelihood of the non-extension of the lockdown, the DM said, “Lockdown is not the ultimate solution. It is at best a regulatory mechanism to contain the spread of the infection. We are hopeful that people will behave responsibly once the lockdown is lifted.”

Sources in the district administration said shops would be allowed to open in a staggered manner once the lockdown period ends. As per the post-lockdown blueprint, only 50% of the non-essential shops will be allowed to open on all days except Sunday. On Sunday, mandatory shop closure order is in vogue.

Shops to the left of the roads will remain open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Shops to the right of the road will open on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. A proposal to allot numbers to all the shops and order closure on odd-even basis is also under the consideration of Gaya municipal commissioner Sawan Kumar.

Meanwhile, D K Jain, former President of the Central Bihar Chamber of Commerce, has demanded de-notification of G B Road commercial centre as a containment zone.

Reacting to Jain’s demand, the DM said as per the Union health ministry guidelines, an area once notified as a containment zone will remain as such so long as no new positive case is detected during the last 14 days.