New guidelines of NMC offer further easing of restrictions
   Date :16-Oct-2020

guidelines of NMC_1 
 
 
Staff Reporter :
 
Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), on Thursday, issued fresh guidelines in tune with the State Government’s ‘Mission Begin Again’. The new guidelines offer further easing of restrictions. In tune with the State Government’s fresh directives, NMC guidelines issued by Radhakrishnan B, Municipal Commissioner, state that stamping of air, train passengers with indelible ink will be immediately ‘done away with’. The domestic passengers arriving at airport shall be checked for COVID-19 symptoms but stamping with indelible ink shall be immediately done away with. The health check-up and stamping of passengers at railway stations also will be done away with. However, the passengers have been asked to follow COVID-19 protocols of social distancing and sanitation. Schools, colleges, educational and coaching institutions will continue to remain closed for students up to October 31.
 
Online/distance learning shall continue to be permitted and shall be encouraged, state the guidelines. With effect from Thursday, permission has been granted to call up to 50 per cent of teaching and non-teaching staff to the schools at a time, for online teaching/tele-counselling, and related works, in areas outside containment zones. Skill or entrepreneurship training in industrial training institutes, short-term training centres registered with National Skill Development Corporation or State Skill Development Mission or other Government agencies also have been permitted.
 
In higher education institutes, online/distance learning shall continue to be ‘preferred mode’ of teaching. Permission has been granted to re-open higher education institutes meant only for PhD research scholars and post-graduate students in Science and Technology stream, requiring laboratory/experimental works. Higher and Technical Education Department will issue standard operating procedure (SOP) for the operation of the guidelines in this regard.
 
All Government and private libraries have been allowed to function following all COVID-19 protocols of social distancing and sanitation. Metro rail services also have been allowed to resume in a ‘graded manner’. Marriage, other personal family functions and related gatherings with number of guests not exceeding 50 and funeral gatherings with number of attendees not exceeding 20 will continue to be allowed. Gardens, parks, and public open spaces for recreational purposes will continue to be open. Business to business or B2B exhibitions have been permitted to open in areas outside containment zones, as per the SOP to be issued by Industries Department. Local weekly markets including that of animals also have been permitted to open, as per the SOP, with a condition that all the protocols of COVID-19 will be followed strictly. “With an objective to control/reduce crowding, markets/shops will be permitted to open from 9 am to 9 pm in areas outside containment zones only,” state the new guidelines issued by NMC.