Uttarakhand: Covid-19 Curfew Extended Till June 29; Hotels And Restaurants To Reopen

The hotels and restaurants in the state have been allowed to operate in-dine services with 50 percent of their seating capacity between 6 am and 10 pm.

Representative Photo

Dehradun: Uttarakhand government on Sunday announced the extension of the COVID-19 curfew from June 22 to June 29 with certain relaxations, Cabinet Minister Subodh Uniyal informed.

The hotels and restaurants in the state have been allowed to operate in-dine services with 50 percent of their seating capacity between 6 am and 10 pm. Uniyal informed that the bars will also be allowed to operate with 50 percent capacity.

The active cases in the state are 3,220, while the cumulative deaths and cumulative recoveries in the state were recorded to be 7026 and 328262 respectively, as per the data of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

Meanwhile, Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Saturday demanded a judicial inquiry in an alleged COVID-19 testing scam during the Maha Kumbh Mela, which came to light recently.

Speaking to ANI, Trivendra Rawat said: "The Chief Minister (Tirath Singh Rawat) has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), but a judicial inquiry is necessary in this matter because it is an interstate matter. People can doubt whether the inquiry will be accurate or not".

On June 15, upon being questioned on the issue, the Joint Health secretary of the Union Health Ministry Lav Agarwal had said that a detailed report on fake COVID tests conducted during Kumbh Mela is expected in a few days.

The former Chief Minister added that he had asked for a judicial inquiry as it will be more credible. "I am not against the special investigation team (SIT) but it is a question of public perception. People have more faith in the court. In this year's Kumbh mela, people from all over the world came to Haridwar. In such a situation, it would be better if a trusted investigative agency probes the matter."

On Thursday, state Chief Minister Tirath Rawat had remarked that the matter (COVID testing scam) was from the time before he took charge as the CM. "This matter is from the time before I took charge as the CM. As soon as I took charge, I ordered an inquiry into it. A probe is underway, strict action will be taken against those found guilty," he said.

On being asked that CM Tirath Rawat has said that this testing scam dates back to before his term, Trivendra said that now the investigation has started into this matter and everything will come to the fore.

The former Chief Minister alleged that the RT-PCR testing scam is not just an economic scam, it is a crime and corruption. He said that during the pandemic, negative certificates were given falsely without investigation, which comes under the category of federal crime. He added that who was involved in this fake testing scam will be revealed post-investigation.