CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Chief Minister, Beant Singh, on Oct.1, ordered the closure of all educational institutions including university hostels up to October 16, as a measure of preventing the Spread of plague. Haryana too in the similar action has ordered the closure of all schools, colleges in the districts adjoining the national capital of Delhi.
All the local bodies in the state have been ordered to immediately clear the towns and cities of garbage especially in the slum areas as part of the preventive drive.
‘An official spokesman clarified that these steps were being taken only as a “protective and preventive measure” and should not be interpreted as a panic signal.
There was no sign of plague breaking out in the state the spokesman added, “Meanwhile, all educational institutions in the districts of Haryana, those are adjoining Delint have been closed till Oct. 8, as 4 precautionary measure, according to Raghubir Singh, Commissioner and Secretary Health, Haryana.
‘The closure has been ordered in the districts of Rohtak, Faridabad, Gurgaon and Sonepat. He also confirmed that so far no case in the state of Haryana has been tested positive for plague, for prevention, he added, the health officials have been asked to educate the masses, Close monitoring is being done at the railway stations and bus stands all around the state and persons coming from plague affected areas are being checked Jor symptoms. DHARAMSALA: With the spreading of plague in the neigh’ bofing states of Himachal Pradesh, the district Administration of Kangra is faced with a piquant situation due to forthcoming Navyratre fair, when lakhs of devotees are expected to reach the three temple towns of the district from October 5. Meanwhile, panic spread in village Tikker, near Palampur of Friday after some rats were found dead. A team of doctors from the zonal hospital has been rushed to the site to ascertain the facts.
The municipalities controlling these temples have been alerted and asked to launch cleanliness drive and spraying of DDT in and around the temple complexes for killing the rats.
UNA: The first suspected pneumonic plague case was admitted in the district hospital here on Saturday, The patient, Ashok Kumar is a resident of village Meer in Bangana tehsil and runs a halwai shop in Panchkula in Haryana. According to doctors attending on him his blood and symptom sample had been sent to Shimla and New Delhi for further investigations. He has been kept in isolation ward of the hospital. SHIMLA? The Himachal Pradesh government has launched a contingency action plan for plague control.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 7, 1994
