Nagaland Civil Secretariat shuts door for visitors amid Covid-19 cases surge
In view of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in Nagaland, the state government on Tuesday announced that the entry of visitors to the Nagaland Civil Secretariat Complex will be restricted with immediate effect in the interest of public safety
In view of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in Nagaland, the state government on Tuesday announced that the entry of visitors to the Nagaland Civil Secretariat Complex will be restricted with immediate effect in the interest of public safety.
On Tuesday, chief secretary J Alam issued an order restricting the entry of visitors to the state civil secretariat while the entry of employees will be strictly regulated and other government officials or visitors in exceptional cases will require the permission of the home department.
“This restriction of entry of public to the Secretariat, unless for official purpose, is a normal Covid restriction, given the surge in cases we are witnessing,” said MLA Mmhonlumo Kikon, a government spokesperson for Covid-19.
Some, however, voiced mixed opinions regarding the order.
“Total restriction of visitors or public to the Secretariat will be a setback for the public because almost all the government policies and programmes require final approval from the Secretariat level,” said Vibeilietuo, a contractor. He expressed that this would be a demerit for beneficiaries of different programmes of the government, especially for time-bound programmes.
According to a social worker, “My opinion on this latest order is 50:50. All state affairs happen at the Secretariat, so the place is like a hornet’s nest in a way. Therefore, restricting visitors is justified. On the other hand, it will be at the disadvantage of the public whose paperworks need government approval.” He opined that instead of completely shutting the Secretariat gates on the public, the government could enforce strict adherence of Covid SOP and allow visitors with genuine cases.
The state has recorded 13,238 total Covid-19 cases since the outbreak last year, of which 12,135 are reported to have recovered, according to health officials. However, with the second wave, the total active cases have shot up to 727 as of April 26 in a span of weeks.
Covid-19 cases continue to see a spike in India but a marginal drop in infections was reported in the past 24 hours. As per the official figures from the Union ministry of health and family affairs, the country witnessed 323,144 new cases in the last 24 hours. With this, India’s Covid-19 tally stands at a whopping 17,636,307.
