Bhubaneswar: After the enforcement of lockdown in four districts of Odisha, the district administration of Gajapati Sunday followed suit and announced a lockdown in COVID-19 hotspot areas of the district.
This comes after the district reported a total of 703 confirmed cases of the viral disease and three COVID deaths.
Gajapati Collector Anupam Saha also issued a notification and relayed the importance of the lockdown for more clarity to the people.
The lockdown has been imposed in all block headquarters and Urban Local Bodies (Parlakhemundi Municipality and NCA Kashinagar and seven other selected gram panchayats of the district).
The gram panchayats going under lockdown include – Keranadi and Katalakaitha (Gosani Block), Renipentha and Hadubangi (Kashinagar), Arshyagada and Jhami (Gumma), Karasing and Narayanpur (Raygada), K Jhalarsingh (Nuagada), Sabarapalli (R Udayagiri) and Pindiki (Mohana).
The government has during the lockdown barred functioning of all shops, offices, commercial establishments, institutions except for emergency service providers.
People working in government establishments, utility and essential service providers, transport, vegetable, food and grocery sellers however have been exempted from the lockdown.
Vegetable vendors, grocery shop owners have been asked to operate only between 7am to 2pm every day. All of them have also been asked to ensure social distancing and other hygienic norms as per COVID 19 rules.
PNN