Adequate stock of essential commodities: Himachal CM

 Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Saturday urged the leaders of all political parties to give wholehearted support to the government to check the coronavirus spread. And there is adequate stock of essential commodities.

Chairing an all-party meeting here, he said the government would deal the cases of hoardings and profiteering of essential commodities sternly.

The government has decided to postpone the date of payment of various public utility bills like electricity and water without any extra charges.

Thakur said the state would take strict action against the suspected persons who refrain from quarantine. The state has asked five manufacturers in the state for bulk manufacturing of sanitisers.

All the teachers have been exempted from coming to school till March 31.

He said only in case of any emergency the Deputy Commissioners can requisite the services of teachers.

He said there was adequate stock of essential commodities in the state. He said adequate sanitation kits were being made available to the doctors, paramedical staff, police personnel and sanitary workers.

Himachal Pradesh was the first state in the country to notify the Himachal Pradesh Epidemic Disease (COVID-19) Regulation of 2020 on March 14 to tackle the menace of coronavirus effectively.

The Chief Minister said two suspected cases of coronavirus were reported from Kangra district on Friday, which was a matter of concern.

He said samples of both the patients have been sent to Pune for further investigations and verification.

The state has closed all educational institutions till March 31 as a preventive measure besides closing all major temples.

The state has also banned entry of tourists. The hotelier associations have also extended wholehearted support to the state in this regard.

He said a complete ban has been imposed on organising of any religious, cultural, political and social functions and gatherings in the state.

Thakur said the prices of masks and sanitizer have been fixed and hoarding of these essential commodities would be dealt sternly.

The Chief Minister said a mechanism would be developed soon to bring down the attendance of employees in major offices so as to avoid overcrowding.

Thakur also urged the opposition parties to give their support to ensure the success of 'Janta Curfew' in the state to motivate the people to remain indoor on March 22.

He said keeping in view 'Janta Curfew', 2,020 plying of buses has been suspended and all the inter-state contract carriage has been suspended from midnight of March 21 till further orders.

The Chief Minister said the government reduced plying of interstate HRTC bus services to only 10 per cent. The intrastate bus services of HRTC and private buses would be reduced by 50 per cent. IANS