Ganjam seals borders with three districts

Berhampur: The Ganjam administration on Wednesday sealed the district’s borders with Nayagarh, Gajapati and Khurda after the number of infections touched 2,836. It also restricted people from heading towards Bhubaneswar, and has intensified checking of vehicles near Narayani Chhak under Khallikote police station limits.
“Ganjam has the highest Covid-19 cases in the state.If people move around, there is possibility of the virus spreading even more,” said collector Vijay Amruta Kulange. Those who need to go out of the district for medical reasons or other emergencies must apply for permission from the concerned sub-collector and collect passes, he added.
SP (Ganjam) Brijesh Rai and his forces checked vehicles at different border points and prevented people from heading towards Bhubaneswar. However, vehicles coming from other districts and travelling through Ganjam were allowed to pass unhindered.
Meanwhile, markets in Silk City saw a mad scramble of customers looking to stock up on essentials ahead of the five-day shutdown of Berhampur from Thursday.
The shutdown will be effective in all urban areas, including the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) and five block headquarters towns of Dharakote, Sheragada, Jagananth Prasad, Patrapur and Sanakhemundi from Thursday to next Tuesday. The district administration will screen people in these five days. “We had to rush to the market to buy essential items, including groceries and vegetables,” said Srikant Padhy. Similar rush was seen in other urban areas like Aska, Hinjili, Kabisurya Nagara and Chhatrapur. Although the district administration has allowed medical shops to remain open and milk delivery to continue as normal during the shutdown, several people also stocked up on medicines. “We don’t want to face a police inquiry while stepping out during the shutdown,” said a person while buying medicines for his family. The price of vegetables rose sharply in Silk City markets as well.