Night curfew in 4 districts of Himachal, edu inst shut till Dec 31

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh that saw a sudden spike in coronavirus cases with the reopening of hotels and resorts, the state Cabinet led by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday decided to impose night curfew in four districts that are preferred tourist destinations.

It also decided to keep the educational institutes shut across the state till December 31 and hiked the penalty for not wearing mask to Rs 1,000.

The daily night curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. till December 15 is imposed in the districts of Shimla, Kullu, Mandi and Kangra, which were emerging hotspots, Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj told IANS.

He said the fine for not wearing masks was enhanced from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000.

The Cabinet decided that the final examinations in the schools that normally scheduled in December will now be held in March.

However, online studies would commence from November 26. The teachers would continue to work from home till further orders.

Offices of high schools, senior secondary schools and colleges would function from November 26. The principals would be at liberty to call faculty members as per requirement.

Bhardwaj said it was decided the winter closing institutions would be closed from January 1 to February 12, 2021. However, the online studies would continue even during the winter time.

It also decided that the final examination for class VI and VIII, IX and XI would be conducted simultaneously for winter and summer closing schools in March 2021.

The board exams for class X and XII classes would be conducted in March 2021 together for winter and summer closing schools with 30 per cent relaxation in syllabus already carried out by the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education.

In the wake of the pandemic, the Cabinet decided to restrict attendance of Class III and IV government employees to 50 per cent. The 50 per cent employees would attend office for three days and the remaining for next three days till December 31.

The Cabinet also decided that all social, political, cultural and sports, etc., gatherings in open areas would be restricted to 200 persons with social distancing.

And all the buses in the state would ply with 50 per cent of occupancy till December 15.

The minister said it was decided to hold the elections to the newly constituted Municipal Corporations of Mandi, Solan and Palampur with the elections of Dharamsala Municipal Corporation in March or April next year.