People in Jammu remain indoors on 'Janata curfew' to check spread of virus

On the appeal from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a 'Janata curfew', people across Jammu region on Sunday stayed back at their homes to check the spread of coronavirus that has so far infected four persons in the Union territory.

In a related development, a Jammu-based English daily announced its decision to close its offices for the day in response to the Prime Minister's call.

Jammu and other parts of the region, which are under virtual lockdown for the past couple of days, witnessed unprecedented response to the 'Janata curfew' with residents preferring not to venture outside their homes to lend their support to the government's efforts to fight the pandemic.

Police has blocked many roads by barbed wires and deployed its personnel in the main towns and vital thoroughfares across Jammu region as the administration led by Lieutenant Governor G C Murmu made repeated appeals to the people to ensure the success of the 'Janata curfew'.

Except those involved in delivery of essential services, nobody came out of their homes even in remote and far-off places understanding the threat due to coronavirus, an official said quoting reports from various district headquarters.

“The people need to pay heed to the advisories issued by the administration from time to time for their safety. We will overcome this challenge when we stand united in the fight against this novel and deadly virus,” he said.

In its front page, the State Times group of publications announced closure of its offices in response to the call for 'Janata curfew' by the Prime Minister.

“The decision to close the offices is aimed at promoting and encouraging the people to stay indoors with the avowed objective of maintaining social distancing, a keyword, among other measures to combat coronavirus", a spokesperson for the publication said adding that there would be no issue of the paper on Monday.

Meanwhile, five persons were arrested for spreading rumours on social media about detection of more cases of COVID-19 in Jammu.

A case was registered under relevant provisions of law against the arrested persons -- Raman Gupta and Vikas Sharma of Gandhi Nagar, Vikas Arora of Shastri Nagar, Amit Sharma of Roop Nagar and Rajinder Sharma of Trikuta Nagar, a police official said.

He said all the five accused were arrested on Saturday after police zeroed in on them during investigation of false information on coronavirus cases that created panic among the residents.

Police appealed to people not to share any unverified information and said strict action would be taken against anyone found involved in spreading rumours on social media.

So far, three positive COVID-19 cases have been reported from Jammu region and one case from Kashmir valley. PTI TAS HDA