A familiar sight after so many weeks

A familiar sight after so many weeks

But for autorickshaws and buses, it is almost normal everywhere in Madurai

12/05/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,MADURAI

Old scenes and smells: The heart of Madurai has started pulsating again with the opening of shops on East Masi Street on Monday. R. Ashok

Normal vehicular traffic, except for autorickshaws and buses, was back on city roads after the long lockdown on Monday. The high volume of vehicles warranted operation of automatic signals.

“All of a sudden there is a huge increase in the number of vehicles. Finding space for parking has once again become a task,” said businessman J.S. Kaleel Rahman, 38. All shops, except for big textile shops and malls, are open. Furniture shops, utensil shops, tea stalls, construction material shops and automobile spare parts shops are open.

Though vehicular traffic has increased, footfalls in shops have not increased proportionately, said Mr. Rahman who runs an optical shop on East Veli Street. “May be people just want to move around to have a look of their city. The actual business will pick up slowly,” he said.

But a grocery merchant in Nethaji Road had a different story. “All these days under lockdown our shops were going out of stock and a huge crowds were thronging our shops. But, now, we have adequate stock and are eagerly waiting for customers,” said M. Dayalan.

With the prolonged lockdown, kitchen appliances such as wet grinders and mixers should have broken down in many households, as a shop selling spare parts for these appliances had a good crowd.

Assistant Commissioner of Police B. Joseph Nixon said that only autorickshaws were not allowed now. “Taxis are allowed with only two passengers,” he said.

Stating that only Madurai residents were moving around, he added that the real congestion would begin only when people from neighbouring districts such as Virudhunagar and Sivaganga descend here on business. Motorbikes were allowed, but pillion riders were not allowed. People who were not wearing masks and helmets would be penalised, he said.

Trucks were not allowed during daytime to avoid spreading of the COVID-19 infection. They were allowed into the city between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. he added.