Bustle, chaos as Lockdown 3.0 begins
CURBS EASED Liquor stores overwhelmed; India starts returning to work but enforcing rules a challenge
NEWDELHI: A degree of chaos and confusion prevailed on the first day of India’s lockdown 3.0 — this is the third extension of the national lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, but with substantial relaxations in restrictions — with several citizens violating social distancing norms and authorities struggling to enforce a complex set of regulations across the country on Monday.
The most visible symbol of India’s partial opening up — and the challenges that come with it — were licensed liquor shops, which were allowed to resume operations after 40 days.
Be it in Delhi or Kolkata, Bengaluru or Jaipur, and be it in the poshest locales or lower middleclass colonies or slums, it was in front of liquor shops that people queued up for kilometres, jostling with each other, often not wearing masks, violating social distancing protocols, and in many cases, leading the police personnel to use force to disperse crowds or authorities to shut down shops.
In Delhi, alarmed by the reports of these violations, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal — who had only on Sunday asked for the lockdown to be entirely lifted — warned that strict measures, including more restrictions and sealing, would be introduced if the trend persisted. Experts, however, pointed out that the government should have anticipated the challenge, and in the case of liquor shops, either not enforced stringent restrictions in the first place, or allowed a more widespread reopening to ensure adequate supply.
Monday also saw greater traffic movement than during the last 40 days as more shops and offices opened for business, but this was coupled with confusion in enforcing norms — with local authorities in different states struggling to distinguish between activities and individuals permitted to be out and those who needed to stay home.
One big relaxation that kicked in was the decision to allow selfemployed people, including domestic help, plumbers, and electricians, to work. But resident welfare associations were divided on the issue. In the Capital, while many neighbourhoods allowed workers to come in, others advised caution. Sudha Sinha, president of Federation of CGHS Dwarka limited, said, “We have requested residents in all societies to wait till May 17.
There is no harm in waiting for a while, especially when cases are increasing every day.”
In other cities in the country, officials reported higher traffic on roads a large number of industries resumed operations. Still, a large population still worked from home, and the traffic was not close to normal.
But a big challenge was in implementing the guidelines. An official in Delhi said, “To be able to know who is within the 33% of a private office workforce and therefore is allowed to go to work is difficult. To be able to explain to people what activities are still not allowed when they think it may all have opened up is difficult. We will have to communicate better, and citizens will have to be more responsible.”