Bhubaneswar: A day after another lockdown was declared in four districts and Rourkela, unprecedented rush was witnessed at the market places in Capital city. Although shops selling vegetables, grocery and milk would remain open between 6am and 1pm during the lockdown from July 17 to 31, many stepped out of their homes and resorted to panic buying. Heavy rush and serpentine queues were also seen in front of liquor counters.
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has sealed the Unit IV market area Friday after detection of six Covid-19 cases.
Interacting with Orissa POST, several people supported the decision while many others expressed concern over yet another lockdown which, they said, speaks volumes of the government’s ability to arrest the spread of the killer virus.
Sambit Maharana, a resident of the city, said, “People get panic largely due to unplanned/unorganised lockdowns. Massive testing is the only option through which we can detect the chain of coronavirus. We are doing less number of testing. More we test more we get the pattern. By imposing lockdowns, we can’t stop the virus, we are just delaying it.”
Meanwhile, Jagannath Mohnaty, a city-based lawyer, said, “During the last one week, over 500 Covid positive cases are coming up every day. There is no other way to curb the infection other than lockdown. If people haven’t learnt after the last lockdown to plan ahead and follow social distancing then what can the government do?”
Before the lockdown, the government had also declared weekend shutdowns in 10 districts of the state. Also, the night curfew across Odisha has been eased by two hours and was effective from 9 pm to 5 am instead of 7 pm to 5 am earlier. The entire state has been divided into two zones to focus on areas with more positive cases.
Nevertheless, people are seen flocking to the markets in large numbers which becomes a major source of headache for enforcement agencies.
Satyabrata Panigrahi, a software engineer, said, “The shutdowns and lockdowns are not working because people still rush to crowded places to buy groceries, fish and meat etc. It is our collective responsibility to protect ourselves and others. We can keep blaming the government, but unless we don’t do our part we can’t stop the spread.”
