Chief Secretary, BVR Subrahmanyam today called for intensive surveys to be conducted in twin cities of Jammu and Srinagar especially in the identified red zones. The move aimed to have a data base ready with the administration and to put people in isolation/quarantine having symptoms of coronavirus thereby putting check on further spread of Covid-19.Chief Secretary said this while chairing a meeting to review the present situation keeping in view the increase in number of positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir.Financial Commissioner, Health, Principal Secretary, HUDD, Principal Secretary, Planning & Information, Commissioner Secretary, Forests, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Secretary, RDD, Secretary, FCS&CA, DC Jammu and MD NHM, participated in the meeting. Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, IGP Kashmir, DC Srinagar, OSD coronavirus control, Owais Ahmad and MD, KPDCL, Mohammad Aijaz attended the meeting through video conference. Chief Secretary while interacting with the officers asked both the Divisional Commissioners and DCs of Srinagar and Jammu to work out modalities for survey to be done initially in the twin cities of UT. Principal Secretary, HUDD was asked to coordinate with Financial Commissioner, Health to devise a format on which the teams would conduct the surveys to compile a data of people living in containment zones.It was decided that the staff who is already involved in any kind of coronavirus mitigation efforts will not be part of the survey teams. Fresh staff to be deputed in the teams exclusively for this purpose, the Chief Secretary emphasized.He said that the survey teams shall be constituted but the survey would be done only if need arises and the same model will be replicated in other districts also.
Underscoring the need of utilization of technology in fighting the virus and to have clear picture of containment zones or the areas having reported positive cases from all the districts, the Chief Secretary directed for plotting the identified areas through spatio-temporal mapping. He asked Commissioner Secretary, Forests to depute technical experts from Environment & Remote Sensing Department and to put DFOs at the disposal of DCs along with their staff for mapping related activities.Deliberations were also held on establishing professional call centres in the districts. To begin with, it was decided that call centre facility shall be created initially in Jammu and Srinagar cities so as to provide 24X7 assistance to the people. These call centres would be different from the already operational helpline/control rooms where the medical advice/queries are being addressed, the Chief Secretary said. He asked both the Divisional Commissioners and DCs of Jammu and Srinagar to further discuss and made a workable action plan. He stressed on putting more people/staff in this activity for addressing public issues related to the coronavirus.Besides, emphasis was also laid on tracing out people who had attended religious congregation at Delhi and their contacts so as to control further spread of virus. Chief Secretary directed Principal Secretary, Home, Divisional Commissioners, IGPs of both the divisions and concerned DCs to prioritize the tracing activity and put all such people in isolation/quarantine.Calling effective tracing and testing a success in containing the coronavirus, the Chief Secretary asked all concerned to put in their serious efforts in identifying people having symptoms of coronavirus and poses threat to others by not disclosing their travel history and sharing health condition with the administration.