Life normal in remote areas of Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur
Manali: In times of Covid-19 lockdown, life in tribal areas of Himachal Pradesh is routine so far. While people across the country are panicking from coronavirus , residents here are busy with their regular agriculture and horticulture works.
Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur are getting benefit of being on the edges of the state with just one or two connecting roads and no settlement beyond.
The inter-state movements are not passing through these places, which are generally the last destination of the traveller. This geographical benefit has protected the area from spread of the Covid-19.
Residents of Kinnaur district are spending days maintaining apple orchards and cultivating vegetables. The only change that they have introduced this year, is wearing face mask while working in fields.
“We are busy in the fields. This is the only source of income for a majority of us. We have no time to sit before TV and watch news on coronavirus,” said Sunil Bodh, a local farmer. “The residents and the administration are ready to face future challenges, but they know their place is safer than other parts of Himachal. We are naturally quarantined and not easily accessible to the outer world. We are also a little assured that outsiders will not bring the disease easily to us as our area is not easily connected and accessible,” he added. No case of Covid-19 has been reported from these tribal regions till now, but that has not made the locals care any less. They are following all the safety protocols.
Residents of Kinnaur district are spending days maintaining apple orchards and cultivating vegetables. The only change that they have introduced this year, is wearing face mask while working in fields.
“We are busy in the fields. This is the only source of income for a majority of us. We have no time to sit before TV and watch news on coronavirus,” said Sunil Bodh, a local farmer. “The residents and the administration are ready to face future challenges, but they know their place is safer than other parts of Himachal. We are naturally quarantined and not easily accessible to the outer world. We are also a little assured that outsiders will not bring the disease easily to us as our area is not easily connected and accessible,” he added. No case of Covid-19 has been reported from these tribal regions till now, but that has not made the locals care any less. They are following all the safety protocols.
Beyond Kinnaur, Spiti valley has a population of 12,000. Days before lockdown was announced, they had decided to neither leave the valley nor allow entry of outsiders. Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur are the only districts in Himachal where there has been no case of violation of lockdown norms and home quarantine. The sparse population itself makes social distancing effortless. As some stranded people from Ladakh are taking the Leh-Lahaul-Manali route, they are kept under watch during night halt in Lahaul and sent out.
Lahaul-Spiti deputy commissioner Kamal Kant Saroch said, “People here cooperate with the administration and police. Though the area is remote, we are prepared for future possibilities with isolation wards in hospitals and sending people to home and institutional quarantine. All those entering the district for any reason are undergoing multiple health check to ensure Covid-19 does not enter the district.”
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