Districts mend lockdown decision after rap from state top brass

Ranchi: Chatra and Hazaribag district administrations on Wednesday backtracked from their earlier decision to impose a week-long lockdown in their respective jurisdictions. The development came a day after a senior official rapped the district authorities for not consulting the state government before taking the lockdown decision.
The Chatra district administration, through the deputy commissioner’s official Twitter handle, tweeted on Wednesday, “Reports about lockdown in Chatra district... are mere rumours. We appeal to the people not to pay attention to such things.”
Similarly, the Hazaribag district administration, which on Tuesday announced a total lockdown in its municipal limits, allowed Union government agencies and banks to function. Commercial establishments, however, remained closed. The district collectorate will remain closed till Friday as several employees there have tested positive for Covid-19.
Hazaribag deputy commissioner Bhuvanesh Pratap Singh, who has been in home quarantine for the last few days, said, ““We had a meeting with the representatives of a chamber of commerce recently. They demanded total lockdown to contain the spread of the virus in the district.”
Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, the state government replaced Chatra deputy commissioner Jitendra Kumar Singh with Divyanshu Jha, as part of a major administrative reshuffle involving 18 officials.
Ravi Shankar Shukla, the deputy commissioner of East Singhbhum, has also been replaced. Last week, Shukla had ordered the closure of vegetable markets during the weekends to sanitise the areas.
Till Wednesday morning, Chatra had 78 active Covid cases, while Hazaribag had 101 and East Singhbhum 381 Covid patients.
(With inputs from Abhijit Sen in Hazaribag)