Amid the COVID-19 scare, the Punjab government is mulling giving bail to those convicted of minor offences and parole to those who had spent considerable time in jail.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, while disclosing this, pointed out that the Supreme Court had talked about decongesting the prisons. “The final decision would, however, depend on the courts. State Advocate General Atul Nanda is taking up the matter with the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court,” he said here.
In an attempt to check the spread of COVID-19, the State government has also decided to launch a door-to-door awareness campaign from March 19 across the State.
Capt. Amarinder also appealed to religious organisations and Dera heads to keep gatherings under 50 in support of the government’s efforts to check the spread of the virus.
The Chief Minister said, after a series of review meetings with the Health and other concerned departments, that while Punjab, with one confirmed case, was so far safe, it could not afford to be complacent in the face of the spreading pandemic.
“The State government is taking all possible measures to stop the disease from spreading further. Strict monitoring is being done of all those arriving from high-risk countries and so far, 116 suspected cases had been tested,” he said.
Earlier, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar had written to the Chief Minister urging the government machinery about intensifying the drive to tackle the COVID-19 threat.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, Mr. Jakhar said there have been reports that garbage dumps had piled up in some towns and cities due to strike by sanitation staff or other reasons.
