HP calls off winter assembly session
Decision taken after detailed reviewing of Covid-19 situation in the state, says chief minister Jai Ram
SHIMLA: Due to the recent spurt in coronavirus cases, the Himachal Pradesh government has decided against convening the five-day winter assembly session proposed at Dharamshala.
The decision to cancel the winter session scheduled from December 7 to 11 was taken during a state cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Jai Ram Thakur here on Tuesday.
“After a detailed reviewing of the Covid-19 situation in the state, the cabinet recommended cancellation of the winter session of the Vidhan Sabha in the wake of a spike in cases and restrictions imposed on gatherings,” said the CM.
Opposition parties Congress and CPI (M) had insisted on holding the winter session of the state assembly in Shimla or Dharamshala. Congress had repeatedly maintained that the winter session was important to discuss the situation arising from coronavirus.
Former CM Shanta Kumar had personally spoken to Jai Ram Thakur asking him to defer the winter session while veteran Congman Virbhadra Singh had favoured holding the same in Shimla.
The cabinet decided that all the ministers, MPs and MLAs would not hold any public functions and conduct only virtual functions by strictly adhering to the SOPs issued by the state government. The cabinet made it
mandatory to seek permissions from sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) for social gatherings.
It also decided that containment zones would be strictly enforced to break the chain of the virus.
Random sampling would be done to identify affected persons at an early stage to avoid further transmission. All the ministers would ensure effec
tive implementation of the ‘Him Surkasha’ campaign in their assigned districts. They would also ensure effective steps to contain Covid-19 cases at all levels, including reviewing arrangements in medical institutions.
State logs 21 Covid deaths, 709 fresh cases
DHARAMSHALA: Himachal Pradesh recorded 709 fresh Covid-19 infections on Tuesday taking the state’s tally to 41,227, while the death toll mounted to 656 as record 21 patients succumbing to the contagion. There are 8,218 active cases in the state whereas 32,309 people have recovered. Total 759 recoveries were recorded on Tuesday.
In J&K, eight more succumb to virus
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir recorded eight more deaths due to Covid-19 and 454 fresh cases on Tuesday, taking the case count to 1,10,678 and death toll to 1,702. As many as 237 people tested positive in Kashmir and 217 in Jammu, while five died in Jammu and succumbed in Kashmir.