
The district collector of Porbandar Wednesday issued a notification closing public parks and beaches, including the famous Chowpaty beach in Porbandar town and Madhavpur beach, till April 21, as preventive measure against the Covid-19 pandemic. However, these public places will remain open to public from 5 am to 8 am for morning walks.
The notification, issued by District Collector DN Modi, stated that all the parks and gardens in Porbandar and Asmawati river front in Porbandar town will remain open to public for morning walks from 5 am to 8 am only. Similarly, Chowpaty, Chowpaty Cricket Ground, the Hathi Chowpaty Ground and the ground near Oceanic Hotel would also remain open to public from 5 am to 8 am for morning walks only. The notification added that these restrictions would apply to the sea coast near Rangbai Mata temple in Odadar village, at Khimeshwar Mahadeve temple in coastal Kuchhadi village, and the famous Madhavpur beach in Madhavpur village of the district.
“For 50 days, Porbandar district had not reported a single case of Covid-19 but since the beginning of this month, we are recording one or two cases every day… Many are visiting sea beaches and parks in Porbandar and April has lots of holidays. We apprehend, during these holidays, these places can become crowded and spread Covid-19. Therefore, as a preventive measure, we have ordered closure of these parks and beaches,” said Modi.
He added, “This is not announcement of a lockdown but the beaches and parks are a luxury and we want people avoid unnecessary travel during this period.”
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.