Shimla: Fears of a pandemic looming large in the country, the government of Himachal Pradesh as a preemptive measure has banned the entry of all tourist buses to the state.
Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur while interacting with the media announced that the measure had been taken after positive coronavirus cases had been detected in the neighbouring states. “The government had decided to ban entry of all tourists buses carrying domestic and foreign nationals to the state,” he said.
He said that the government had already taken preventive and remedial steps to check the spread of pandemic. “All vehicles entering the state were being sanitised and adequate arrangements have been made to scrutinise all who were visiting the state,” he added.
The chief minister said that isolation wards had been set up in Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Medical College Tanda and Medical College Ner Chowk in Mandi. He has urged the general public to not trust in rumours and misinformation and give their wholehearted support to the government authorities to tackle the grave situation.
Entry of domestic and foreign tourist has already be banned in many parts of the state.
Kangra district magistrate Rakesh Kumar Prajapati disclosed that in compliance with the state government directions entry of domestic and foreign tourists into Kangra district hads been completely banned till further orders.
He said that it was only after a thorough examination of vehicles coming from other states that they were being permitted into the district at all the entry points to the region.
Himachal has already shut down all educational institutions till 31 March 2020 and restrictions have been imposed on all types of religious events, fairs, festivals, sports competitions and other such events are in progress.
Director tourism Mr Yunus has directed suspension of all Volvo luxury bus services operating between Shimla –Delhi-Shimla and Manali-Delhi-Manali routes.
With the auspicious and festive Navratra days approaching, the government has already announced closing the doors of all temples in the state to keep crowds away from these places of religious importance.
In a normal year, more that 1 crore tourists visit Himachal and over 70% of them are religious pilgrims.
With inputs from Arvind Sharma from Dharamshala
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
