Is RK Beach going to have timing restrictions for the people of Vizag?

With the looming threat of the third wave in the city, are the district officials planning to impose entry restrictions at the RK Beach Road on weekends? Sources from the District administration have revealed that the officials are planning to limit public gatherings by imposing timing restrictions during weekends at places like RK Beach in Vizag. This was discussed during a review meeting, held on Wednesday, attended by State Minister for Tourism, Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, Visakhapatnam District Collector, Dr. A Mallikarjuna IAS, and other district officials. 

A drop in the Covid-19 cases has been observed by the district officials and the positivity rate is presently balanced at 2.5 percent. But weekends are when crowds gather and the threat of the virus spreading is at its highest. After the daytime curfew was lifted in July, citizens started coming out of their homes and huge crowds of people have been witnessed at RK Beach, especially on weekends. To curb this, it was suggested to limit the entry timings at RK Beach to 5 pm and not allow anyone to enter the beach after that. District officials believe that such restrictions would help in controlling the spread of the virus in Vizag, at RK Beach and other public places. The Tourism Minister said that there should be no festival celebrations and community gatherings conducted without the permission of the District Collector.  

Speaking to Yo! Vizag about this development, Commissioner of Police Manish Kumar Sinha IPS said, “It has been decided to allow no movement at RK Beach after 5 pm on weekends and public holidays.

City police teams have been deployed at the beach entry points, checking whether people are wearing masks, and maintaining social distance at the beach. However, many people have not been following Covid-19 norms. Doctors suggest that this can lead to a third wave of the pandemic. Learning from the things which happened in the first and second waves of Covid-19, the Minister instructed everyone to take appropriate measures keeping the third wave in mind.

It has also been observed that Covid-19 protocols are hardly being followed in the agency areas, especially at the weekly shandies where Covid-19 norms are being largely violated.