Curfew-like scene in Mohali

Sanjay Bumbroo

Tribune News Service

Mohali, March 22

A curfew-like situation was witnessed in the district as people preferred to remain indoors and markets in the entire city wore a deserted look in view of the Janata Curfew call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Barring chemists, all shops, restaurants and liquor vends remained closed. The police had made elaborate arrangements to check the movement of people. Dispensaries and hospitals, however, remained open, but there was hardly any rush.

A random visit to different markets in the city, including Sector 69, Phase V and Phase VII, and Phase 3B2, Landran, which generally remain overcrowded, remained closed today. The streets in all sectors wore a deserted look as the people remained indoors and glued to their TV sets.

Policemen standing at different light points could be seen directing the occasional car and two-wheeler to stop to check the purpose of their movement in the city. The police came into action when a resident of Sector 33, who had recently returned from Canada and was home quarantined, was seen driving a vehicle in Phase VII. When the police questioned him why he was moving, he could not give a satisfactory reply to the police. The police directed him to leave the city immediately and if he wanted to get medical services, he should dial the toll-free number.

Satish Kumar, a resident of Phase VII, said in view of the increasing threat of Covid-19, they preferred to remain indoors. He said they would continue to follow the guidelines given by the state and the district administration from time to time.

Manjit Singh Sethi, Deputy Mayor, said people had responded to the call for the Janata Curfew given by the Prime Minister. He appealed to residents that they should follow this with the same spirit in the coming days. He said the virus was spreading speedily as the figure of affected persons had gone up from seven to 14 in the past two days in the state. People should step out of the house only when essential commodities were to be bought, he said.

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