Teething troubles mark Day 1 as Covid lockdown enters new phase
Law enforcement agencies face difficulties in managing crowds, maintaining social distancing norms
NEWDELHI:Scenes of chaos outside liquor stores that opened after 40 days, confusion over the reopening of other commercial establishments, the return of traffic, albeit thin, onto the roads and a small section of office-goers braving it back to work -- that just about summarises how the first day of lockdown 3.0 went on Monday.
A semblance of normality returned for the first time since March 25, when the lockdown took hold, as the central and state governments loosened some of the tough restrictions they put in place to curb the spread of Covid-19. The loosening of the curbs is part of a a government strategy aimed at a graded lifting of the world’s biggest lockdown.
The government has allowed the resumption of standalone stores, neighbourhood shops and outlets in residential complexes to reopen for business. The central government has also allowed private offices with up to 33% staff strength and private vehicles with two persons besides the driver even in urban areas classified as red zones
Standalone liquor shops have been allowed to open in all three zones — red, orange and green — in the country subject to the condition that strict social-distancing rules are observed. These shops are, however, not allowed in containment zones.
From West Bengal to Rajasthan and Karnataka to Uttar Pradesh, law enforcement officials faced a tough challenge on Monday in controlling crowds and maintaining social distancing in front of liquor shops.
Extraordinary scenes were seen across Indian cities where people formed serpentine queues, waited for hours and jostled with each other to reach the sales counters. Many celebrated by lighting the traditional lamp and incense sticks.
Such was the rush in Kolkata that most shops had to down their shutters hours after opening for business. “The government will not allow violation of social distancing norms outside liquor stores,” chief secretary Rajiva Sinha said at the state secretariat in the afternoon.
In Rajasthan, which too closed some shops as the day progressed, people formed long queues. “What to do, sir? This day has come after a long wait,” said Shyam Sundar Sharma, a consumer waiting for his turn.
Sanjay Bhoosreddy, the principal secretary of the excise department in UP, said: “There is an estimate that on the first day itself, the government is likely to earn Rs 100 crore as revenue.” In India’s most populous state, officials in some places put in place a “one bottle, one person” limit.
“We want our alcohol at any cost,” said Sooraj Pawar from Mumbai’s suburb Santacruz.
In the morning, confusion prevailed in Mumbai over the opening of liquor shops with traders waiting for the final word from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which gave its go-ahead in the afternoon. Liquor shops in Mumbai and Mumbai Suburban opened after that.
Some states such as Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana kept liquor shops closed. So did Puducherry.
The Tamil Nadu government announced the resumption of liquor sales from May 7. The decision to open state-run retail outlets was taken after people in districts bordering Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh started making a beeline to liquor stores there, posing a challenge in controlling interstate movement, the government said in a statement.
Shops in Madhya Pradesh will reopen on Tuesday, excluding Bhopal, Indore and Ujjain — all under the red zone.
Also on Monday, with areaspecific relaxations coming into force, several manufacturing firms across auto, textiles, breweries and fertilizers segments resumed operations. But some retailers complained of chaos due to different interpretation of orders by local authorities.
Traders’ body CAIT (The Confederation of All India Traders) said just 20% of its member shops in permitted categories could open in different states due to confusion and lack of clarity over interpretation of neighbourhood shops and standalone shops at the local level.
CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said: “In states like Punjab and Uttarakhand, over 50% shops were allowed to open but in many states either the shops could not open or those which opened were asked to close down by the local authorities.”
The country’s largest twowheeler maker, Hero MotoCorp, said it resumed operations in a graded manner across three of its manufacturing plants in Gurugram, Dharuhera (both in Haryana) and Haridwar (Uttarakhand), with product rollout expected to begin on Wednesday.
Commercial vehicle maker SML Isuzu said it received permission from the Punjab government to start its manufacturing plant situated in district Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar, but emphasised that the “work from home policy” will continue.
In line with the federal guidelines, the West Bengal government said private buses are allowed intra-district travel with 20 passengers in green zones, while standalone shops will be allowed to open in all zones.
Business activities and movement of people resumed mainly in green and orange zones of Odisha as the state government considerably relaxed the lockdown curbs. The situation remained largely unchanged in the “red zones” where roads were deserted look.
In Assam, a police patrol party was attacked by a group of people while enforcing curfew as part of the lockdown. An officer in Sonitpur district was injured.
In UP, long queues were seen at banks, though many private offices were closed. Haldwani in Uttarakhand reported traffic in the first half of the day with people coming out on their twowheelers and four-wheelers to visit markets. Small traffic jams were seen in Bengaluru as well.
While Pune mayor Murlidhar Mohol expressed his disapproval of the decision to give relaxations in non-containment zones in the city, Chandigarh administrator VP Singh Badnore said it was necessary to ease lockdown restrictions in the Union territory.
“After 41 days of the lockdown, it was necessary to ease out restrictions for bringing the economy on track and also for giving relief to daily (wage) earners. Hence, as per guidelines of home ministry, the Chandigarh administration provided certain exemptions in the lockout,” Badnore said in a statement.