In view of rising cases of Covid-19 infection, Ranchi district administration has advised people to opt for SMS during Holi and Shab-e-Barat.

By SMS it did not mean short message service for wishing friends and relatives but go for social distancing, mask and sanitiser.

“Considering that coronavirus is rising its head once again, it is desired that people observed the festivals at home and followed SMS,” Ranchi deputy commissioner Chhavi Ranjan said while addressing a district-level peace committee meeting at the local collectorate on Thursday that was also attended by other senior officials.

“We expect that the people of Ranchi will cooperate the same way they did during the pandemic and celebrate the festivals in a friendly atmosphere,” he further said, also advising all to ignore if they came across any rumour circulated through social media.

“Our primary objective is to maintain peace and law and order,” said senior superintendent of police Surendra Jha, adding that they had already taken necessary preparations for the purpose.

They would watch the goings-on in the city through CCTV cameras installed at strategic locations and also deploy drones for effective surveillance, he informed.

Section 144 has been imposed in the entire area under Ranchi sub-division during March 26-28, banning gatherings of five or more people.

Further, DJ and high-decible sound system have also been banned while any songs, speeches or other such materials depicting vulgarity and communal feelings have also been declared as strictly prohibited.

Meanwhile, the number of Covid positive cases have considerably increased in the state and also in Ranchi during the past one month. While there was below 500 active cases in the state in mid-February, it went up to 1,175 by 9 pm on Thursday, with Ranchi alone having 574 cases that accounted for 48.85 per cent of the total cases in the state.

The increase in the past one week particularly indicated the rising trend of Covid-19 positive cases. There were 624 active cases in the state on March 18 with 97 new cases and 72 recoveries on that day.

In Ranchi, there were 363 active cases on March 18 but it went up to 574 on Thursday.