Himachal begins inter-state buses
Shimla: With tourists influx having already crowded the hill destinations of Shimla and Manali, Himachal Pradesh on Thursday resumed inter-state services on 317 routes including Delhi-Shimla, allowed opening of temples and lifted restrictions on gyms and sports clubs. Earlier, the state government had also withdrawn its orders on outsiders requiring e-passes and social gatherings limit raised to 100 for outdoor functions.
Transport minister Bikram Thakur said the HRTC-the government run public sector understanding has suffered a loss of Rs 105 crore during the past two months, apart from cumulative loss of Rs 950 crore.
"The inter-state services have been started with all the neighbouring states on 317 routes, which later will be increased further. Only 50 percent capacity will be allowed for the transport buses," he said.
Only a day before the Union home minister had written to state Chief secretary Anil Khachi sounding an alert about chances of future surge in the COVID cases as districts like Kinnaur had a high positivity rate of 30.03 per cent against the national weekly rate of around 3.1 per cent.
The Union Home secretary has asked the government to remain highly watchful against new strains of the virus as there are chances of flesh cases.
The government spokesperson said the state was already preparing itself to tackle any wave of COVID 19 in future and much of the preparations were almost complete in the districts. "In the efforts to do so, the health department has sent directions regarding roles and responsibility of ASHA for pediatric COVID care. The ASHAs will have a vital role to create awareness in the community regarding signs and symptoms of COVID-19 in pediatric age group," he said
The spokesman informed that ASHA workers have been told to do house to house surveys and visit all houses with children in the community. There shall be special focus on women where the child has influenza like illness, acute respiratory symptoms or any co morbid conditions.
