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Ghaziabad cinema halls shut; Noida tells gyms to close too till March 31
In wake of the covid-19 outbreak, the Ghaziabad district administration on Sunday ordered the closure of all cinema halls across the district till March 31. The
In wake of the covid-19 outbreak, the Ghaziabad district administration on Sunday ordered the closure of all cinema halls across the district till March 31. The officials said that the decision was taken on directions of the UP state government. Gautam Budh Nagar too decided to close all cinema halls as well as gyms till March 31 the same day.
About 20 multiscreen cinema halls and another eight single screen cinema halls is likely to be affected in Ghaziabad. In Noida, there area about three cineplexes, 10 multiplexes and two single-screen facilities.
“The directions were issued after a video conference with the UP chief minister. We have directed the closure of all cinema halls whether located inside the malls or outside. Malls as such will not be closed. We will review the situation and issue appropriate directions for opening or continuing with the shutdown,” said Ajay Shankar Pandey, district magistrate, Ghaziabad. “During the closure period, the cinema hall owners and management will also ensure that the premises is properly sanitised and cleaned so that no issues result in case they are asked to resume operations. Our health department teams will also keep a check.”
According to the officials of the district entertainment tax department, there has been a drop of about 60% in footfall over the past two weeks ever since the outbreak.
“During a review meeting, all cinema hall owners were called and briefed about taking up cleanliness and sanitisation procedures at the premises. As the district magistrate has issued directions for closure till March 31, our inspectors will be keeping a tab on these cinema halls and ensure that they do not open without a resumption order. Our teams will start inspections from Monday onwards,” said Yadender Ajay, deputy commissioner (entertainment tax), Ghaziabad.
The district officials of Gautam Budh Nagar also issued similar directions and also directed the closure of gyms.
“All the gyms and movies theatres have been ordered close down till March 31 or till further orders. Shopping malls will however remain open,” said BN Singh, district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar.
Earlier on March 12, a similar step was taken up in the National Capital when Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced that all movie threatres will remain shut till March 31. The Delhi government also declared the Coronavirus an epidemic.
In a bid to tackle the outbreak of novel coronavirus, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday invoked the Epidemic Diseases Act for a month and ordered closure of all educational institutions in the state till March 22. The closure order applies to schools, colleges, universities and technical institutions. However, they have directed that ongoing examinations will continue.
According to the officials of the health directorate of UP, 3938 travellers from covid-19-affected countries have been identified and tracked and placed under surveillance till March 15.
