Officials tough on shops for not maintaining social distancing

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 13

In a joint operation with the local police, the estate wing of the Municipal Corporation seized goods of shopkeepers, who were not following the social distancing norms in the cantonment area and in the walled city on Friday evening.

Sushant Bhatia, Estate Officer, said they were getting regular complaints that after relaxation in the lockdown, shopkeepers again started displaying their goods on roads and allowed public gatherings around their shops.

“These restrictions are meant to prevent large gatherings of people so that the virus does not spread through human contact. We found that some shopkeepers in narrow streets posting hurdle to the traffic and violating the social distancing. In coordination with the local police, we seized the goods of shopkeepers, who illegally displayed on roadside”.

Various teams of the estate wing raided Putaligarh, Basat Avenue and the Telephone Exchange area. There are some areas in the walled city which are declared contentment zones. Ironically, the shopkeepers are not following the guidelines in these areas and violating the social distancing.

“Though, the state government has imposed curfew on weekend but we will continue our drive from Monday onwards. No one will be allowed to violate the government guidelines to prevent the spread of pandemic. We will also take strict action against violators rather than seizing the goods”, added Bhatia.