The Chandigarh Administration will rope in city denizens as “authorized Covid volunteers” (ACV) to ensure compliance to curfew restrictions and social distancing protocol in the city to stem the spread of Coronavirus.
The Administration on Friday released a standard operating procedure to appoint ACVs, who would undergo mandatory screening and registration to work along with UT Police and local authorities.
The decision to appoint the ACVs have been taken following the directions of Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore, who had asked the Administration to involve representatives and volunteers for effectively maintaining sealing of various colonies and areas and for enforcing social distancing and other protocols in the city.
The SOP issued by Administration stated, “Every registered volunteer shall be referred as authorized Covid volunteer (ACV). Every ACV must get himself screened by the team of UT Health Department.”
“The individual volunteers, NGOs, RWAs, volunteer organizations and other associations willing to work as authorized Covid volunteers to aid local police and Administration in enforcement of the guidelines of UT Administration and motivating the citizen to comply the same shall register themselves with the concerned SDM by means of an application at the email IDs of SDM central, south and east,” as per the SOP.
“These ACV will only assist the police and administration. They will not be allowed to perform any official duty. None of these registered ACV will be allowed to seal main road (entry/exit points) by barricades etc at their own level. These ACVs will only work under the supervision of local police and administration and strictly as per the approved plan and duty chart,” the SOP stated.
In case, the conduct of any ACV is found improper, the same will be removed immediately. The work done by these ACV will be treated as only voluntary for all means and purposes, it added.
The SOP order further stated, “List of individual volunteers, if found suitable will be compiled by the office of SDM concerned for ready deployment, in case of any need. The NGO, RWAs, volunteer organizations or other associations should prepare a plan and duty chart for their societies, RWAs and submit the same with application of concerned SDM.”
SDM concerned shall take the views of the local Police and SDPO concerned to decide on these applications. If any changes are made by the SDM in the proposed plan, the same shall be abided by the applicants, it added.
Notably, a curfew was imposed in Chandigarh on March 24 to contain the spread of Coronavirus in the city.