KARGIL JULY 15, 2020: District Magistrate (DM) and Chairman, District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) Kargil Baseer ul Haq Choudhary on Tuesday issued an order for opening of restaurants for home delivery, takeaway and resumption of commercial taxies in the district.
The order reads, “ In continuation to this office Order No: Estt-I/COVID-19/2020, dated: 30-06-2020 and in exercise of the powers conferred upon me under Section-34 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and Sectio-144 of CrPC, 1973, I, Baseer ul Haq Choudhary, IAS, Chairman, DDMA/ District Magistrate, Kargil hereby order that:-
- All restaurants and other hospitality services within the district Kargil shall be permitted to operate for home delivery and takeaway as per SOPs attached as Annexure “A”.
- Commercial Taxies shall be allowed to ply with 50% seating capacity as per the SOPs attached as Annexure “B”.
However, the SOPs/ guidelines laid down by the MHA/MoHFW and UT Administration of Ladakh from time to time in order to contain the spread of COVID-19 shall be followed in letter and spirit.
The order shall into force with effect from 14th July, 2020.”
As per the Annexure “A” attached with the order with regard to SOPs for opening of restaurants and protocol services, disposable menus are advised to be used. It further reads that use of good quality disposable paper napkins shall be encouraged.
The SOPs also include other necessary measures like encouraging contactless mode of ordering and digital mode of payment (using e-wallets), only asymptomatic staff and patrons to be allowed in the kitchen and all staff and patrons to be allowed entry only if using face cover/masks and the face cover/masks have to be worn at all times inside the kitchen.
Other prerequisites as per the SOPs are that adequate manpower shall be deployed by restaurant management for ensuring COVID-19 SOPs, special markings may be made with sufficient distance to manage the queue and ensure social distancing during takeaway besides maintaining physical distancing of a minimum of 6 feet, when queuing up for takeaway.
With regard to SOPs as per Annexure “B” attached with the order, the plying of commercial taxies shall be permitted with the condition that they ply with only 50% of the seating capacity besides social distancing among passengers shall be ensured.
As per the SOPs all the Commercial Taxi owners shall ensure availability of hand sanitizer besides effective and frequent sanitization of the taxies including the handles, knobs, buttons and frequently touched surfaces shall be ensured.
Moreover, passengers shall be made to sit in the taxies as per social distancing norms.
