[Watch] Night Curfew Returns To Odisha After 3 Months

Malkangiri: The streets in Odisha Malkangiri district wore a deserted look after 9 pm on Tuesday with the district administration imposing night curfew to check any congregation during the ongoing tribal festival, Bada Jatra.

The curfew will be in force between 9 pm and 6 am till March 31. A proactive step since the district has not seen any new COVID-19 positive cases in the past week and has no active cases.

Collector Yeddula Vijay told the media that Malkangiri shares borders with Chhattishgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. “People from these states come to the district to participate in the tribal festival. Chhattishgarh and Telangana have witnessed a spike in daily caseload with over 1000 infections being reported in these states every day. There is every possibility that people from these states can infect those in Malkangiri and this can lead to a rise in cases here,” he said.

The collector clarified that the night curfew will remain in force only for the duration of Bada Jatra.

“Desia Natak is mostly organised at night during the festival. A decision to impose a curfew was taken to prevent such large gatherings,” he added.

Police forces could be seen on the streets of Malkangiri enforcing night curfew and asking people to abide by the order.

Meanwhile, the administration has also made seven-day home isolation mandatory for those visiting the district.