Hailakandi administration cancels Joythakur Mahotsav & other mass gatherings

15: As a precautionary measure to keep the Coronavirus disease at bay, the Hailakandi district administration has cancelled all public meetings, events and programmes to reduce mass gatherings across the district with immediate effect. An order has been issued to this effect by District Magistrate Keerthi Jalli on Friday.

The order stated that all kinds of permissions earlier granted to different individuals and groups to hold melas, events and public meetings throughout the district stand cancelled to reduce mass gatherings in order to contain the spread of COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus disease.

The administration disallowed the holding of Joythakur Mahotsav at Ashram Road in Hailakandi town on Sunday. The decision not to allow the holding of the mahotsav was taken by the administration to avoid large gatherings to prevent the spread of the virus in view of advisories from Central and State Governments. An official privy to the development said the decision was taken as tens of thousands of devotees from different parts of Hailakandi district and even from outside Barak valley, including Tripura would have descended on the town for the mahotsav posing serious health hazard to the people.

The district administration is closely monitoring the situation with the health authorities and has taken a slew of measures, including opening of an isolation ward at the civil hospital and formation of a rapid response team to prevent the spread of the pandemic that has rippled across the globe. The district administration will be holding another review meeting on Monday after last Sunday’s meeting to take stock of the situation and to assess its preparedness to deal with any exigency.