Srinagar, April 09 (KNO): Seeking support of people in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Dr Shahid Iqbal Chaudhary on Thursday said that Srinagar district has been divided into 25 zones and there will be around 5000 government officials deployed across the district for resolving the “day to day” issues of people. He made a fervent appeal to the people to stick to the lockdown stating that some 800 people didn’t disclose their travel history and if they would don’t so, perhaps the situation would have been better at this juncture.
Addressing a press conference here, the DC Srinagar said that that as per the plan framed by the government, Srinagar district has been divided into 25 zones from Friday on wards, there would be 5000 government officials on ground to address the issues people are confronted with in their respective areas.
“Let me tell you that some 800 people who had travel history of outside J&K didn’t come forward and instead preferred to hide their travel history. But with our robust contact tracing, all of them have been traced one by one,” he said as per wire service—Kashmir News Observer (KNO). “Had they come forward earlier, perhaps the situation would not have been same at we are in today. One positive COVID case can affect upto 100 person and then there becomes a chain.”
He said given the fact that Srinagar is a congest city, the administration has declared 14 red zones. “All the entry points in these areas have been sealed barring a few which are meant to facilitate employees on essential duty and to ensure supply of essentials,” the DC Srinagar said.
As per KNO, the DC urged religious leaders and elders of every locality to persuade people not to venture out and to adhere to the guidelines laid by the government that are aimed at preventing the spread of the pandemic.
The DC Srinagar also made an appeal to the government employees who are posted out of Srinagar to stay in the areas where they are posted. He assured the people that there was no shortage of life saving drugs while as 70 per cent district has been covered by the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution department under “ration at door steps program” far and that the process is still on.
The DC said that more than 11000 non-local labourers who are in Kashmir are being provided with the free food etc. “We have life saving drugs for five to six weeks in Kashmir and almost every alternate day, special aircraft lands in Srinagar with lifesaving and other drugs,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, SSP Srinagar Dr Haseeb Mughal urged people to cooperate with the police men who are deployed round the clock on roads and streets of Srinagar just for the safety of people. “This time, it’s not a fight against militancy or that the police force is not dealing with any law and order issue,” he said.
“This lockdown is totally different from the previous ones but people here follow same old habit of coming out of their homes in the evening in large numbers, when deployment is thinned down.” He also urged people not to hide their travel history. “It’s a social issue and we have to collectively deal with it, ”Dr Haseeb said—(KNO)