Odisha Assembly adjourned till March 29 for COVID-19

Bhubaneswar: In view of wide spread of Novel Coronavirus and increasing number of confirmed cases across the country, Odisha Assembly was adjourned till March 29 as part of precautionary measure.

Assembly Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro adjourned the second budget session till March 29 following a proposal by the government Chief Whip Pramila Mallick in the House.

However, the opposition Congress and BJP opposed the proposal adjourning the House alleging the government of taking the decision to avoid discussions over several serious matters.

Meanwhile, Odisha government today declared COVID-19 as the state disaster a day after first death was reported due to deadly virus in Karnataka..

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the Assembly announced closure of all educational institutions, cinema halls, gyms and swimming pools across the state till March 31.

As per the move, non-essential official gatherings such as seminars, workshops, conferences are to be cancelled while social gatherings and assemblies like religious functions, marriage receptions, parties etc are to be regulated by local authorities.

On the other hand, the State Cabinet has approved Rs 200 crore for creating awareness on Coronavirus.