HP govt imposes blanket ban on community feasts, shuts educational institutions and temples till May 10

The decision was taken by the state Cabinet in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur in Shimla on Thursday

HP govt imposes blanket ban on community feasts, shuts educational institutions and temples till May 10
user

Bipin Bhardwaj

The Himachal Pradesh government on Thursday imposed a blanket ban on community feasts (popularly called ‘Dham’) during marriages and other celebrations across the state.

Besides this, all educational institutions and temples have also been closed till May 10.

Government offices will now have a 5-day week and will function with 50 percent of total employees of Class-III and Class-IV categories till May 10.

The decision was taken by the state Cabinet in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur in Shimla on Thursday.

The CM said that a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in the state was a matter of concern and the state government was making all out efforts to curb the spread of the pandemic by taking stringent steps.

He said that the government had also decided to restrict social gatherings during marriages to 20 persons.

He said that steps would be taken to increase bed capacity, particularly in heavy load districts such as Kangra, Mandi, Shimla, Solan, Una and Sirmaur.


An effective mechanism would be evolved to check and regulate entry of people visiting the state from other parts of the country. People coming from other parts of the country would have to remain under home isolation for 14 days and also give information regarding their arrival to the local authorities as well as elected representatives of the PRIs and the ULBs, said the CM.

Thakur urged the Union Health Minister to provide 5000 D-Type oxygen cylinders and 3000 B-Type oxygen to ensure that there was no dearth of oxygen in the state.

The hill state registered a high of 33 deaths and 2,539 COVID cases on Thursday, taking the tally to 93,889. Kangra has emerged as a hotspot with 16 deaths, four each in Mandi and Solan, three in Shimla and two each in Una, Hamirpur and Sirmaur, on Wednesday.

The highest 693 cases were reported in Kangra, 295 in Sirmaur, 292 in Mandi, 283 in Solan, 215 in Shimla, 207 in Bilaspur, 182 in Una, 109 in Kullu, 108 in Hamirpur, 93 in Chamba, 50 in Kinnaur and 12 in Lahaul and Spiti, an official statement issued by the state government said.

Follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, Google News, Instagram 

Join our official telegram channel (@nationalherald) and stay updated with the latest headlines