Govt to keep Aadhaar issuing centres closed to check spread of virus

Kolkata: The state government has decided to keep Aadhaar card issuing centres closed till further order, to avoid gatherings as a precautionary measure to check spread of COVID-19.

Notifications in this regard have been sent to all districts. The state government has taken a series of steps in the past few days to check spread of the disease. It was found that several people were gathering at Aadhaar card issuing centres.

Considering that it may lead to spread of the disease, the decision has been taken to close the centres for the time being, said an official, adding that there is nothing to worry about as all the tasks in this regard will be taken up as early as possible once the situation gets normalised.

At the same time, the state Correctional Administration department has decided to grant parole application of the inmates who are in custody for more than 10 years. They will be allowed to go to their houses for 15 days.

The step has been taken up to ensure safety of inmates in correctional homes in the state. There are around 22,000 inmates in 60 correctional homes in the state, including 4,000 in Dum Dum Central Correctional Home.

This comes at the time when the correctional home authorities have also taken various steps to check the spread of the disease among inmates. Restriction has been imposed on entry of members of different organisations who provide training to inmates.