SRINAGAR: With surge in Covid cases, the government will be imposing lockdown for three days from Thursday evening in several districts of Jammu and Kashmir to restrict public movement.

The lockdown beginning 7 pm on Thursday will continue till Monday (May 3), officials said. Until late Wednesday evening, nine district commissioners made announcements about imposing lockdown in their respective districts on Twitter.

“There will be Complete Lockdown in Srinagar District from 7:00 pm Thursday (29/04/2021) to 7:00 am Monday (03/05/2021). Exemptions apply to essential services. Detailed order shall follow, ” he said.

Essential services have been excluded during the lockdown period.

Similarly, the other districts where lockdown will be imposed include Baramulla, Ganderbal, Anantnag, Kulgam, Jammu, Udhampur, Reasi and Kathua.

For nearly a month now, Kashmir has been battling with the second wave of COVID-19. On Tuesday, Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a jump in cases, reporting above 3000 positive. Of them, the highest are in Srinagar. More than 2200 COVID related deaths have been reported in a year so far, mostly from Kashmir.

Earlier this week, the administration imposed partial lockdown on the weekend and later ordered opening of only 50 percent business establishments to reduce footfall in the markets.

Reader correspondent