New Delhi, February 25 – To prevent further spreading of swine flu, section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) has been invoked by the Ahmedabad district collector which prohibits mass gatherings without prior permission.
“It has come to our notice that swine flu cases have been on the rise in Gujarat including Ahmedabad. The virus, which causes swine flu, is contagious and generally infects people by entering through nostrils and mouth mostly at crowded places,” the Ahmedabad district collectorate statement said.
Gujarat has already registered more than 230 swine flu deaths, which include more than 50 fatalities in Ahmedabad, since January this year. The number of positive cases of swine flu recorded in Gujarat is 3,527 and the disease has caused the highest number of deaths in Gujarat compared to other states in the country.
However, the Collector has exempted people gathering at marriages and death processions from Section 144. If public events cannot be called off or postponed, organisers would have to take prior permission to ensure that proper care is being taken to stop the spread of swine flu,
like providing masks to all people as well as in disposing off these masks after their use, the statement said. It added that organisers of such events should display big billboards with swine flu prevention measures like washing of hands with soap at regular intervals.
-INDIA TODAY
