Gajapati seals border with Ganjam after rise in cases

Berhampur: The Gajapati district authorities on Saturday sealed its border with Ganjam district after the latter recorded a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases. Officials have prohibited its employees from travelling to the adjoining district without obtaining the necessary permission from them.
“The number of Covid-19 cases in our neighbouring Ganjam district is increasing on a daily basis.It is a matter of great concern,” Gajapati collector Anupam Saha said. “In view of the containment measures taken against the spread of coronavirus, no employees of Gajapati shall be allowed to go to the next district without permission from the competent authority,” he added. The collector said one should have a valid pass or reason if he/she wants to cross the border checkposts.
Gajapati district has so far not reported any positive case and is listed as a green zone. The bordering Ganjam district, however, has been designated as a red one with 84 positive cases (highest in the state) recorded till Saturday.
“Police personnel have been deployed at all border checkposts to check any illegal movement. We have strengthened our surveillance measures. We will increase patrolling at all entry points,” Gajapati SP Sarah Sharma said. Sharma added that the district has 18 border checkposts. Of them, five are with Ganjam district.
“The personnel will keep a round-the-clock watch to prevent any illegal movement through Ganjam-Gajapati border points at Kamalapur, Jarau, Purunapani and Kainpur,” she said.
Meanwhile, Shantilata Nayak, sarpanch of Manitara panchayat (Buguda block) in Ganjam district, said all shops under the panchayat would remain open only between 7am and 11am till May 17 (the day lockdown 3.0 ends). Sources said Nayak might be the first sarpanch in the state who exercised a collector’s power by declaring a 20-hour shutdown to prevent further spread of the virus.
“We have been declared a 20-hour shutdown till May 17. We are requesting people to stay indoors and take precautions,” Nayak said. Medical stores will remain open. “All non-essential services will be suspended during this period,” Nayak said. The panchayat has seven revenue villages.
Nayak said they have to monitor the quarantine centres where migrant workers have been lodged after their return from the other states. “We will ensure that no one is found near these centres,” she added.
“The residents of the panchayat have whole-heartedly supported the move,” Sujata Kumari Pradhan, a samiti member of the panchayat, said. She said they would take more steps after reviewing the impact of the shutdown.
The state government had in April delegated the powers of district collectors to the sarpanches in their respective jurisdictions to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. This was granted under Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, coupled with Odisha’s Covid-19 Regulations, 2020.