SHIMLA: In a big relief for tourists, people entering Himachal Pradesh will not be required to produce RT-PCR negative report from Monday, even though Covid curfew would continue from 5pm to 5am. This was decided by the Himachal cabinet in its meeting on Friday.
The cabinet also decided to lift Section 144 and allow 50% occupancy in intrastate public transport services. Shop timings would be increased from 9am to5pm from June 14, except during the weekend lockdown. Offices with a staff strength of over 75 would function at 50% strength, from Monday.
All medical, ayurvedic and dental colleges would open from June 23, while pharmacy and nursing schools would open from June 28. The cabinet provided a relief of about Rs 40 crore to the transport sector, one of the worst-hit in the pandemic.
The package would include an interest subvention scheme on working capital for stage carriage operators, under which a loan amount of Rs 2 lakh per bus and maximum of up to Rs 20 lakh would be provided
