Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot. Photo: Facebook.
Jaipur: The Rajasthan government has decided to ban the sale of firecrackers during the festive season in the state in the wake of the crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic.
Protecting the lives of people is paramount for the government in this challenging time, chief minister Ashok Gehlot said while reviewing the coronavirus situation on Sunday.
He also said the government has decided to keep the schools and colleges in the state closed till November 16, 2020.
Gehlot was reviewing the situation created by the coronavirus crisis and ‘no mask-no entry’ and ‘war for the pure’ campaign of the state government.
The chief minister also discussed the guidelines of Unlock-6 in the meeting, a statement said.
He directed to take strict action against the sale of firecrackers and fireworks in the state and polluting vehicles running without fitness to protect the health of coronavirus-infected patients and the general public from the toxic smoke emitting from them, it said.
In a situation like this, people should avoid using fireworks on Diwali, he said.
Gehlot said the recruitment process of 2,000 doctors in the state should be completed soon. Selected doctors should be given appointments within 10 days, he added.
During the discussion on ‘Unlock-6’ guidelines, Principal Secretary (Home) Abhay Kumar said educational institutions and coaching centres including school-colleges in the state will remain closed for regular educational activities till November 16, the statement said.
Swimming pools, cinema halls, theatres, multiplexes, entertainment parks etc will remain closed till November 30, it said.
The maximum limit of guests at weddings should be 100, the statement said.
Compulsory to wear masks
Apart from that, the state of Rajasthan will be the first state in the country to enact a law making it compulsory to wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Monday.
The law will be enacted on Monday, he said in a tweet, describing mask as a “vaccine” to protect against coronavirus.
An amending Bill was introduced in the Assembly on Saturday to make it mandatory to wear masks while using public and private transport as well as for attending political and social programmes.
“Rajasthan will be the first state in the country to enact a law to make it compulsory to wear masks for protection against corona, because the mask is the vaccine to protect against corona and it will protect,” the chief minister said.
Along with the public movement against coronavirus in the state, the government will enact a law, he added.
Rajasthan recorded ten more fatalities due to coronavirus on Sunday, taking the death toll in the state to 1,917, while 1,754 new cases pushed the infection count to 1,98,747.