Multi-pronged strategies help 3 Haryana districts to be COVID-19 free

(Eds: Correcting typo in headline)

Chandigarh, Apr 21 () Three districts neighbouring coronavirus hotspots in Haryana have not reported any positive case due to multi-pronged strategies adopted early by authorities and strict compliance of lockdown norms by people, officials said on Tuesday.

Rewari, Jhajjar and Mahendragarh are close to hotspot areas like Gurgaon, Faridabad and Nuh.

People in these districts are guarding the borders to check no outsider enters their areas and district administrations providing essentials at doorsteps. Despite falling in the 'green zone', the authorities have not relaxed the lockdown that came into effect on March 25 to check the spread of the virus.

Rewari Deputy Commissioner Yashender Singh said a lot of effort and planning has gone into ensuring that the district, which also borders Rajasthan, remains coronavirus-free.

"Our district is quite vulnerable in the sense that it is adjoining Gurgaon. Besides, we are neighbouring districts are close to Delhi," he said.

Singh told that after the lockdown came into effect on March 25, they immediately constituted a special team of accredited social health activists, anganwari workers and volunteers, who started screening every single household in Rewari and so far have more than 10 lakh people in a population of nearly 14 lakh have been covered.

Sampling of those who complained of cold, fever or cough was done, but all were found to be negative, he said.

Jhajjar Deputy Commissioner Jitender Kumar said after the lockdown was announced they implemented a "graded action plan".

"When lockdown was announced, the biggest challenge for us was how to minimize movement of people and at the same time provide them with all facilities closer home," he told .

Listing the efforts of the local administration, Jhajjar DC said that the administration first identified all grocery stores, vegetable shops and hawkers and milk distributors and registered them and issued passes.

Also, their mobile numbers have been disseminated in every house by way of mapping. Apart from this, grocery and vegetable vendors of the entire district have been classified into 306 groups and collective passes have been issued to them for their work-related movement, he said.

Kumar said the district administration conducted a survey of about 75,000 labourers and 56,000 brick-kiln workers was conducted in the entire district on time which facilitated them to keep a tab on these workers.

The administration has closed the main vegetable market in both the cities of Jhajjar and Bahadurgarh for common people to avoid large gatherings.

"We set up inter-state and inter-district nakas and only pass holders were allowed entry. Then another important aspect was 'Thikri Pehra', old tradition in villages where locals prevent entry of outsiders, which helps during pandemic such as this one," he said.

The Rewari DC said his district also comprises of industrial towns of Bawal and Dharuhera.

"During the lockdown, I implemented odd-even policy for opening of shops which were selling vegetables and grocery in Bawal where market was congested and could have led to crowding," Yashender Singh said.

"We strictly enforced the lockdown and registered FIRs against violators. We also registered FIRs against four factory owners for not paying wages to the labourers," he said.

A village in Rajasthan, which is barely 500 metres away from Rewari, reported a few coronavirus cases and the Haryana authorities swung into action to ensure infection does not spread, he added.

In Mahendragarh, taking out big vegetable markets of Narnaul and Nangal Chaudhary outside the city limits helped avoid crowding at one place.

"As soon as lockdown was announced, we also implemented Thikri pehra, villagers and NGOs too supported this and we enforced it in urban areas too," District Collector Jagdish Sharma said. SUN VSD DPBDPB