State observes complete lockdown

RANCHI: Jharkhand, for the first time since the outbreak of Covid-19 last year, observed a 38 hour-long complete weekend lockdown during which even essential services of milk supply and grocery stores were not allowed to operate.

The weekend lockdown, which on began Saturday evening, will be lifted on Monday morning. People were asked to stay indoors and not to venture out unnecessarily during this time. On Sunday, all public activities came to a standstill across the state. Every road and street wore a deserted look, more so due to the monsoon rain.

Milk supply, vegetable and fruit vendors and small grocery shops remained closed.

Local police along with additional forces, including rapid action force (RAF), were deployed to check implementation of the lockdown.

State capital Ranchi, that is the hardest hit by the pandemic, witnessed total shut down on Sunday, except healthcare establishments.

Police also conducted intensive checking. People arriving in the city by train or air were also intercepted during the checking.

“Such lockdown is not going to bring significant improvement. Crowd in markets swelled up on Saturday as people were scurrying for making arrangements of essentials for the next day. Since it is implemented for the first time as an experiment, I believe that government will make an assessment of its true benefits,” said Pramod Pathak, a resident of Ranchi.