All shops open, Thane residents crowd markets; TMC monitors

THANE:AFTER all shops were permitted to remain open from 9am to 7pm, markets in Thane witnessed a large crowd on Saturday. Thane civic body officials appealed to citizens to maintain social distancing.

The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) had issued an order on Thursday for shops to remain open while maintaining social distancing.

The shop owners were asked to ensure everyone wore masks and adhered to all the norms set by the civic body.

“We kept sanitisers at the entrance and not more than two customers were allowed in the shop at a time. We did markings on the floor to ensure that social distancing norms were followed,” said Rasik Chedda, chairman, Ram Maruti Road Shopkeepers Association. Sandeep Malvi, deputy

municipal commissioner, TMC said, “We had our officers patrolling at regular intervals to make sure all lockdown rules were followed. We also made regular announcements at popular shopping areas like Naupada and Manpada junction to wear masks and maintain social distance.”

R Somavanshi, senior police inspector, Thane Nagar police

station, said, “The lanes are narrow; hence it may seem crowded, however, we did not observe any violation of social distancing norms on Saturday.”

Neeta Gaikwad, 52, a resident of Naupada, said, “The weekend and holiday made it an apt time to step out on Saturday. The roads were crowded than usual, but everyone maintained social distancing.”