Covid-19: Himachal imposes statewide curfew as people defy lockdown orders

SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh government on Tuesday imposed an indefinite statewide curfew to combat coronavirus after it was found that many people defied the lockdown orders.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said the curfew will come into force in all 12 districts of the hill state at 5 pm on Tuesday.

He made the announcement at 3.15 pm after the district authorities in Una, Kangra and Mandi had already imposed a curfew to contain the spread of the disease.


The CM took the decision after reviewing the situation at a high-level meeting with the ministers and officers.

After the meeting, the CM told the media that the state government was forced to take the step as many people defied the lockdown clamped in the state since Monday.

"Several people were moving on the roads despite the restrictions. So, the state government was left with no option but to impose a curfew in the entire state," he said.

Thakur urged people to follow the instructions issued by the state and central governments and remain indoors.

Una was the first district in Himachal Pradesh which imposed the curfew in the state.

Una Deputy Commissioner (DC) Sandeep Kumar told PTI that the curfew was imposed in the district at 1 pm.

Subsequently, Kangra and Mandi DCs Rakesh Prajapati and Rugdev Thakur, respectively, announced an immediate imposition of the curfew in their districts.
Kangra is the only district in the state where three coronavirus cases have been detected so far.

A 32-year-old man from Harchakkian tehsil and a 64-year-old woman from Dohabe village in Shahpur subdivision were tested positive for the disease on Friday.

A 69-year-old man who recently travelled from the US and came to Kangra on March 21 in a taxi from Delhi had died of the infection at Tanda's Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College on Friday.