Lucknow: More night shelters to ensure Covid-19 protocol in winter peak

LUCKNOW: Tasked to ensure social distancing norms in view of the pandemic, the state government has decided to build more night shelters in the run-up to winter. In an order to district magistrates, the department of revenue sought daily sanitisation of shelter homes, while provisioning adequate sanitizers and masks for free.
The department also decided to geo-tag shelter homes, which may also be photographed for uploading on ‘apda prahari’ mobile application.
“Covid-19 protocols need to be followed strictly,” said additional chief secretary, revenue, Renuka Kumar, in a missive to the department of urban development for implementation by local bodies.
She said, more shelter homes would be set up to ensure nobody sleeps in the open in peak winter. The move is aimed to provide relief to migrants who often come in search of employment.
For implementation of Covid-19 protocols, the state government sought appointment of senior officials as nodal officers for night shelters. The department also sought deployment of caretakers, whose name, designation and mobile numbers would be put up at entrance of night shelters. The state government also asked district authorities to launch surprise inspections to ensure implementation of mandatory norms. The caretaker will also be required to maintain a register for comments by officials.
The district administration would arrange mattresses, quilts, clean bed sheets, safe potable drinking water, lavatory and kitchen. Local bodies would also be required to facilitate bonfires near shelter homes, which should be in close proximity to hospitals, medical colleges, bus-stations, railway stations and construction sites. For this, the district administration may take help of municipal bodies and development authorities.