E-Paper
Uttarakhand villagers seal their villages to check spread of Covid-19
About a dozen villages in Uttarakhand have sealed themselves in a bid to stop coronavirus from infecting them.
With the rise in cases of coronavirus infection, many villages in Uttarakhand have started sealing their villages to ensure no outsider enters their village nor any local person leaves, particularly when lockdown norms are relaxed in the morning.
Five km from Haridwar, Ajeeptur is one such village where villagers barricaded the entry. The initiative in this regard was taken by some youths led by village panchayat member Arun Kashyap who underlined the need for villagers to isolate themselves and ban the movement of people to and from the village.
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“Only in case of emergency service, we allow movement otherwise neither local residents nor outsiders villagers are allowed exit and entry respectively during easing of lockdown restriction from 7 am to 1 pm. Nearby residents also keep tab on villagers movement beyond this time till night. We need to set an example and adhere to the lockdown as per government and administrative guidelines. With masks, soap and sanitizers put up at various points we are also generating awareness among villagers,” said Arun Kashyap, village panchayat member.
Village head Maya Ram Kashyap and deputy head Avdesh Chauhan lauding the youth’s initiative pointed that about 1700 odd villagers are duly adhering this self-imposed restriction during non-restrictive hours too barring any emergency or very important work.
Uttarakhand reported 26 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday.
In Roorkee too, villagers of Matlabpur have conveyed to nearby villages that no person from their area will be allowed to enter till April 14. All the routes and entry points to Matlabpur village have been closed after the consent of the hundred-odd villagers.
Nine other villages that fall in the Pathri area of Haridwar district have also sealed themselves.
“Taking into consideration the rise in the number of positive cases which are primarily due to people coming from other states or countries, we decided to seal our villages to keep Covid-19 out of our areas. Even if vegetable vendors arrive we stop them outside the village and procure vegetables keeping social distance and washing hands of both the vendor and the buyers,” said Tikaula village chief Naveen Chauhan.
In bordering villages with Uttar Pradesh, though state police and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel have been deployed as the state border has been sealed till April 14, some villages on Uttarakhand side are also keeping a tab on any human movement from Bijnore district side.
The village head of Bishanpur Kund Savita Devi said that villagers are also keeping vigil at Ganga riverside area as outsiders can enter by crossing the river to escape from the border police post checking.
