As part of the precautionary measures taken up by the Manipur government in view of the outbreak of coronavirus, the scheduled visit of Union home minister Amit Shah to the state has been postponed. Shah was scheduled to arrive here on March 15.

This was announced by information minister Th Biswajit at a press conference in his office here on Thursday.

Biswajit said as the World Health Organisation has declared the disease as pandemic and given the high level of risk, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appealed to the people to cancel public gatherings as far as possible.

The home minister scheduled visit to the state was to take part in the celebration to mark the completion of three years of the BJP-led coalition government of Manipur. The event has now been postponed to April 15.

The minister further appealed to the people not to organise Thabal Chongba (a popular Manipuri folk dance) after the Yaoshang festival is over on March 13.

Replying to a question, Biswajit said the state government would try to ensure that masks and hand sanitizers were available at all markets in Manipur.