लॉकडाउन उल्लंघन करणार्‍यांविरोधात मनपा आयुक्तांनी घेतली कठोर भूमिका : संजय पाटील

Tukaram Mundhe, Municipal Commissioner, took a round of market places in the city on Saturday to see if people were implementing lockdown properly.

Sanjay Patil : Nagpur : Though lockdown of non-essential services has been ordered in the city, many have not taken it seriously. Many small and big shops/establishments were open on Saturday. Tukaram Mundhe, Municipal Commissioner, took a round of market places and asked defiant shop-keepers to down the shutters of their shops. Else, he warned, they should be ready to face the action. Mundhe took a round of various market places along with police officers.

At some places, shop-keepers had kept their shops of non-essential services open. He spoke to the shop- keepers and ordered their immediate closure. Mundhe visited Futala lakeside, Seminary Hills, Hazaripahad etc. In Sitabuldi area, he ordered closure of a photography shop. Later, he also directed a couple of defiant shop-keepers in Mahal, Badkas Chowk to down the shutters. In Mominpura market, Mundhe asked the defiant shop-owners to shut their shops.

As there was a crowd on road in Mominpura, he asked the people also to avoid crowding till further notice to curb the spread of COVID-19. Later, speaking to mediapersons, Mundhe said that it was ‘unfortunate’ that Nagpurians had not understood what ‘lockdown’ meant. Many were found moving around using their two-wheelers and four-wheelers. “People of Nagpur must understand what is lockdown. They should stay indoors. Lockdown of non-essential services had to be announced, to save people from COVID-19 spread. People must realise that it is better to stay at home now, instead of undergoing treatment later. If people are not complying with the orders, we will have to use force.

To avoid that situation, people must stay indoors,” he said. Some rumours were afloat on social media that there was ‘community transmission’ of COVID-19 in Nagpur city. Mundhe said that there was no ‘community transmission’. The number of COVID-19 positive cases has not increased in the past few days. So, people should not believe rumours, he added. Mundhe announced that the city bus service would be stopped in a phased manner. “If we stop the service immediately, it may cause inconvenience to the people coming to Nagpur from outside by train or other modes of transport,” he said.

The administration is also mulling over stopping metro train service, but no decision has been taken so far. Already, police bandobast has been deployed in the city to keep a watch on the situation. Police and NMC staffers will ask people on roads about the necessity of moving out of their homes. If people do not have solid reason explaining their necessity, they will be sent back to their homes. People should not allow the situation to escalate to the stage when ‘total lockdown’ will have to be ordered, he warned.