As a preventive measure to ward off the threat of Coronavirus, the district administration has adopted a multipronged strategy to curb the menace.
The Regional Transport Office (RTO) being one of the vulnerable places, RTO Bikash Chaudhary informed that till March 31, the test, learning and driving had been postponed. And further instructions have been given, at large, not to gather in the premises.
Similarly, Station Manager, Baleswar railway station, Bikash Ranjan Bera said all necessary measures including disinfection and cleaning at regular intervals at platforms and foot over bridges, had been taken to combat the menace.
On Thursday evening, district Collector K Sudarshan Chakravarthy had a meeting with the heads and representatives of all the worshipping places, urging them to take adequate precautions including not allowing devotees having cough and cold symptoms and further not allowing more devotees at a time inside the premises .
Meanwhile, uncertainty looms large over how the prominent festivals which witness massive gathering would be observed.
It may be noted the the three-day annual Urs of Baba Bhuja Khia Pir is scheduled for March 25. But it is still not clear how the festival, where hundreds of devotees throng to the shrine, would be observed.
Similarly, another prominent festival of Baba Chandaneswar, Bhograi, which runs for two weeks from April 1 draws massive crowd for three days from April 12 to 14.
In the meanwhile, the virus scare has taken toll on the tourism industry, as all the tourist places including Chandipur , Khira Chora Gopinath temple, Remuna, Panchalingeswar, Chandaneswar and Bhusundeswar are witnessing a slump in the footfall of the visitors. It is dipped by over 60 per cent and declining each passing day. The tourists who booked their rooms including in OTDC and Panthaniwas and private lodges in advance were cancelling them, said sources.