A special e-pass initiative has been started in Udhampurdistrict of Jammu and Kashmir for the convenience of patients, a moveappreciated by the local residents amid the ongoing lockdown to combatcoronavirus.
Under the initiative, started by Deputy Commissioner PiyushSingla, patients are no longer required to visit the DC office for movementpasses, and instead have to apply online for the same which is subsequentlyissued through the same channel, officials said.
The district administration has received 217 applicationsunder the scheme, out of which 150 applications have been disposed off tillSaturday evening, they said.
Strict restrictions are in place across Udhampur districtwhere a 61-year-old woman died of novel coronavirus last week. The district has17 COVID-19 positive cases.
Nearly two dozen villages in the jurisdiction of threepolice stations – Rehamble, Ramnagar and Chenani -have been declaredcontainment or red zones in the district.
The special e-pass initiative has also attracted theattention of Union minister Jitendra Singh who took to Twitter to appreciatethe step.
Appreciate DC #Udhampur, JammuAndKashmir, for launchingE-pass service for patients. Any patient in need of movement pass can applyonline at epassudhampur.nic.net.in, he said.
National volleyball player Raj Guru, a resident of Udhampurtown, also hailed the district administration for taking a slew ofpeople-friendly measures.
We have seen ‘ration on wheels’, packed food for thousandsof stranded people, massive fumigation drive and now the e-pass initiativethese are very good steps taken by the local administration which needs to beappreciated, he said.
Guru said people need to understand the seriousness of theproblem and extend all possible cooperation to the administration by staying attheir homes and following the guidelines.
The district officials said the major thrust of theadministration is on the hotspots and strict directions have been passed toensure that no one visits or comes out of these red zone areas spread overthree-kilometer radius.
Special teams are visiting every house in the red zones andadjoining villages to look for contacts of COVID-19 positive cases besides undertakingthe fumigation drive, they said.
The deputy commissioner has already directed all departmentsto put in place necessary arrangements for the delivery of essential items inthese areas through frontline workers and volunteers.
Special duty magistrates have also been deployed in theseareas to monitor the situation closely, the officials said.
Udhampur Deputy Commissioner Piyush Singla himself visitedthe red zone areas to assess the situation and is closely monitoring theworking of all and gets regular updates from all departments concerned, theysaid.
The officials added that large scale awareness throughvarious platforms, including panchayati raj institutions, social media and folksongs, is being done among the common people for practicing social distancing,using masks and following the health advisory issued by the government fromtime to time.
The district administration is also planning to distributefour lakh masks among the people during the next 10 days.
Poor people will be provided masks free of cost, theofficials said.