Fight Over Corona: Telangana Government swings into action to shield state Secretariat

Hyderabad: In a quick action, the State Government reacting to a report in The Hans India, "Secretariat Staff Stare At Big Risk," took all necessary measures to implement the health protocol so that they can contain the spread of the deadly virus.

Health Minister Eatala Rajender, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, DGP Mahender Reddy and other top officials from various departments held a high-level meeting and reviewed the safety measures taken in the Secretariat and also in other States.

Soon after that officials and security forces deployed at the Secretariat were provided with safety masks and sanitizers.

The officials were asked to maintain cleanliness in their respective offices and take required steps to check the possible spread of virus in the premises.

It has mandated all the security staff who are posted near the entry gates to wear masks during the working hours.

The secretariat staff working in the sections will have to adhere certain safety measures mainly washing their hands and avoiding group meetings in the offices. The entire premises will be sanitized from time to time.

Sources said some more safety measures were also in the offing. This would include fixing the number of people who should visit the Secretariat on weekdays.

The Government has already appealed to the people not to visit Secretariat unless the nature of the work was very urgent. Till then, the visitors will also be given sanitizers either at the entry point or in the sections they visit.

The demand to install a thermal screening centre at the entrance of the Secretariat, raised by Telangana Secretariat Employees' Association, will be addressed after seeking the advice from the officials of state Police and Medical and Health departments.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Rajendar said that the ministers and MLAs have been advised to stop attending public programmes in their respective assembly segments and not to allow people in groups to visit them in their camp offices and ministers' quarters until normalcy is restored.

The minister said that the only option to stay away from infection was self-quarantine and social distancing. People were also advised to defer their long-distance travel and also stop attending functions.