Srinagar
The Jammu & Kashmir government on Thursday issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for regulating the movement of stranded residents of J&K from outside the Union Territory.
In order, the government issued SOP to be followed by the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for regulating the movement of stranded people, including migrant workers, students and others.
SOP of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir for Regulated Movement of migrant workers, stranded students and others
Nodal officers:
This SOP applies to the movement of stranded persons to and from the UT of Jammu and Kashmir In pursuance of the MHA’s Order No.40- 32020-DM-1(A) dated 29.04.2020, issued under the Disaster Management Act. 2005.
As per the order, the government has nominated Shaleen Kabra, Principal Secretary, Home, Government of Jammu and Kashmir as the Nodal Officer for the movement of stranded persons and he shall coordinate with nodal officers of other states.
All inward and outward movement will be undertaken only with the prior Permission of the Nodal Officer of J&K or those designated by him. Any person(s) arriving at borders without permission of the Nodal Officer of J&K will be put under Administrative Quarantine for 21 days at Lakhanpur, as explained later.
No one from Red zone/district hot spot will be allowed to enter without the prior permission of the J&K Nodal Officer of J&K or as part of an organized movement by the Nodal Officer of J&K.
The Nodal Officer of J&K shall publicize contact details and set up a suitable mechanism for stranded persons to contact/register their details.
Movement:
The movement of stranded persons shall be regulated by the Nodal Officer of J&K in a staggered manner in coordination with Nodal Officers of other states/UTs. Priority shall be given to the stranded migrant workers and students.
Nodal Officer (LaknenpuriL), Sad A. K Sahu, Commissioner/Secretary. PRE. Irrigation and Flood Control Department, GoJK} shall make arrangements for holding and health screening of incoming persons at
LakhanporiKathua/Sambe and dispatching them to their respective districts in an orderly manner. In case, a particular district is not able to AdmIniStratIvety Quarantine all inbound persons due to exhaustion of capacity, the Divisional Commissioner concerned will authorize utilization of administrative quarantine of any adjoining district
Those J8K-bound stranded persons who move with the prior permission of the Nodal officer of J8K or are moved by the Nodal officer In coordination with the host state shall be referred to as persons in “Regulated Movement” and those who move without such permission shall be referred to as persons in “Non-regulated Movement”.
Nodal Officer (L) shall categorize the Regulated Movement into those from Red Zones/Districts and Non-Red zones/Districts.
Those coming from Red zones/Districts will be medically screened and put under Administrative Quarantine for 21 days. Necessary facilities will be extended by Deputy Commissioners in these quarantine centers. The quarantine locations where specific arriving groups will be sent will be decided by the Nodal Officer (L) in consultation with be decided by the Nodal Officer (L) in consultation with Divisional and Deputy Commissioners.
Those corning from Non-Red zones/Districts will also be medically screened and put under strict Home Quarantine for 21 days. The concerned DCs will follow the protocol of pasting stickers outside their homes and the SPs will keep the Police Beats activated in such areas.
Any person or persons who arrive from outside J&K without the permission of the Nodal Officer of J&K shall be considered to be a person in Non-Regulated movement.
All such persons in Non-Regulated Movement shall necessarily be put under Administrative quarantine for 21 days at Lakhanpur (or elsewhere) as determined by the Nodal Officer (L).
Testing:
All incoming persons, either through Regulated movement or otherwise will be 100 % tested for COVID-19 virus. Health Department will make necessary arrangements for lifting samples at Lakhanpur and various districts to meet the requirements and to do Pool Testing of these samples.
“Based on the results of these tests, a decision on shifting persons from administrative quarantine to home quarantine will be taken by concerned DCs / Div Coms in consultation with concerned CMOs/DHSs,” the order reads.
“Commissioner/Secretary, Labour Department, JK, will coordinate the outward movement of migrant workers held up in J&K to their home states/UTs, under supervision of the Nodal officer,” it reads.
Responsibilities of Divisional/Deputy Commissioners:
The SOP issued for passes vide Government Order No.45-JK (DMRRR) of 2020 dated 18-04-2020 shall continue to remain valid for inter District/Province/State movement on account of medical emergencies, death of relatives etc.
Deputy Commissioners shall be responsible for transit, receiving, quarantining and testing of arriving stranded persons.
Deputy Commissioners shall enhance their quarantine facilities at the local level by utilizing school Buildings, Panchayat Ghar, Hostels, Youth Kendras, Community Halls, etc., to be used at a future date as arrivals increase.
The Divisional Commissioners (Jammu/Kashmir) shall maintain an online database of all arrivals into J&K, as per the enclosed format.
Health Precautions:
All conditions/guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, on safety/health precautions/social distancing/masks will be followed during transit.
