Mangaluru, March 31, 2020: As the district administration has announced a relaxation in lockdown today between 6 am and 3 am, the city is witnessing huge crowd of anxious people thronging supermarkets and grocery stores to buy essentials. Though the administration has made it clear that those visiting shops have to wear masks and strictly maintain social distancing, it has been found that at many places people have failed to adhere to the guidelines.
At Kadri market, chairs were placed apart for those in queue to sit and practise social distancing. But in central market, hundreds were out with no precautionary measures in place.
"While the queue outside supermarkets had people standing apart, the central market was very crowded. People were buying in bulk from here and selling it outside on pavements and elsewhere. There was no distance between people," said Satya Reddy, a resident of Mangaluru who had stepped out to buy essentials at 6am.
The local MLA Vedavyas Kamath as well as the DK District in-charge minister have already made it clear that the decision on relaxation in lockdown in the days to come will be taken only on the basis of the response of the public towards today’s relaxation.
Even the District Nodal Officer for Covid-19 Ponnuraj has stated that it would be inevitable to close down those shops where social distancing is not practised by customers.