Coronavirus
said curfew would be imposed in the state starting midnight, adding that the next few days would be “extremely important”. Thackeray said that essential services will remain open during the time of curfew. “We will not tolerate crowd in public places at any cost. Except in case of an emergency, no one will be allowed to roam on streets. If these guidelines are violated, people will face legal action,” Thackeray said.
In a curfew, people’s movement — whether by public or private vehicles — is barred. District Magistrates issue orders on relaxations or issuance of curfew passes to allow people access to essential goods for specified periods of time.
For instance, Chhattisgarh, which was on partial lockdown and permitted vehicular traffic as well as public transportation, ordered the suspension of public and private buses, auto and e-rickshaws and taxis with immediate effect on Monday, as per an order issued by state Transport Commissioner Kamalpreet Singh.
The Goa government also extended the Janata Curfew to March 25 midnight. The lockdown included a sealing of the border with Karnataka, and all vehicles coming from Maharashtra and Karnataka have been asked to return. Public transport including buses, taxis and motorcycle pilots have also been asked to stay off the roads. The government has ordered that grocery stores would be open only from 6AM to 11AM.
Rajasthan was the first state to announce complete lockdown till March 31 on Saturday. Before that, states such as Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Sikkim had prohibited entry of outsiders into their respective states and West Bengal had shut its borders, closing down all inter-state buses and railways services. India announced last week that all international flights would be barred till March 29.
Meanwhile several violations of the lockdown were reported from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, which announced complete lockdowns on Sunday. People thronging markets to stock up on essential commodities in both states. Both governments had passed orders on how many people were allowed to assemble at a time— five in Telangana and 10 in A.P— and had also banned all passenger vehicles including buses, auto rickshaws and private vehicles from plying. However, at Erragadda Rythu Bazar (farmers’ market), huge crowds were spotted buying vegetables and fruit. A popular supermarket in Somajiguda too saw a large number of customers.