The first day of relaxation from Covid-19 lockdown in Bihar felt like a breath of fresh air’. The sprawling premises of the old secretariat and the Vishweshwaraiya Bhavan in state capital Patna came alive shedding the ghostly silence that had prevailed there for nearly a month.
In Fatuha block, on the outskirts of Patna, the numerous brick kilns restarted production.
However, these relaxations come with strict rules to be followed to ensure that the coronavirus disease doesn’t spread. The police personnel stationed at the gates of the secretariat, which houses many government department, were allowing entry only to those who were carrying identity cards.
“Others requiring entry into the premises would need to furnish a permission granted by a competent authority. None will be let in, though, if found to be running a temperature during screening,” an inspector told news agency PTI.
The police personnel also carried out thermal screening of every occupant inside cars and two-wheelers entering the premises.
Department heads also said they were strictly following guidelines like mandatory wearing of face masks and only one-thirds of the total workforce being assigned duty on a single working day, reported PTI.
At the brick kilns, workers were seen maintaining a safe distance from each other and ‘gamchas’ or sari pallus wrapped around their faces.
The contractors said they are ensuring that social distancing norms are followed and in case a worker is found suffering from symptoms like fever or cough, health department authorities will be alerted.
In many parts of Muzaffarpur, enthusiastic residents came out on the streets in large numbers, prompting the local administration to step in with the warning that the lockdown was very much in place and overcrowding could lead to them being booked under the Disaster Management Act and relevant IPC sections.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said with the easing of restrictions work would start on 40,000 projects which would provide employment to over a million daily wage earners.
