By ARUN PRATAP SINGH
DEHRADUN, 2 Apr: As per new orders issued today, all banks would be open to customers between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. and, after that, can function till 5 p.m. to take care of their record keeping and tallying of accounts.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand High Court has extended holidays for all the courts in the state till 14 April. However, they will still remain functional to deal with urgent or emergent cases. As the Post offices also are financial banking institutions, they too have been asked to work during these hours from tomorrow onwards.
The bank officials will have to obtain their lockdown passes from their authorised seniors while the Bank Mitras would be required to obtain their passes with the help of lead banks in each district. The banks will also be required to take care of the sanitisation of ATM machines or any biometric equipment which the customers might be requiring to use or touch.
Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, today, participated in a video conference of chief ministers chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After the meeting, he held a special meeting with senior officers and asked them to ensure strict compliance of the lockdown. He said that violators of the lockdown ought to be dealt with strictly without showing any leniency. He also said that the guidelines issued by the Ministry of AYUSH aimed at increasing immunity be promoted among the public with the help of National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS) and other volunteers as per need.
Rawat added that the state ought to be in a state of full preparedness towards dealing with Corona. People had to be motivated to wear masks. Officials were directed to ensure that the beneficiaries of PM’s Poor Welfare package did not crowd the banks in order to avail of the benefits. The CM asked the administration to take special care of old age homes and of senior citizens living alone. All the units dealing in manufacturing or distribution of medicines and medical supplies ought to be asked to work in a regular manner so that the supply chain could be maintained.
Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary Omprakash, DGP Anil Kumar Raturi, Secretary Amit Negi, Nitesh Jha, Radhika Jha, Pankaj Pandey, Director, NHM, Yugal Kishore Pant were present on the occasion.
