For city residents, it was a stay-at-home Sunday

With public transport off the roads, traffic was down to a bare minimum; in the evening, many came out to applaud health workers

23/03/2020, STAFF REPORTER,CHENNAI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a ‘Janata Curfew’ on Sunday to encourage social distancing among the public, to contain the spread of COVID-19, received an overwhelming response in Chennai and the rest of Tamil Nadu, with the entire State observing a near-complete shutdown.

With the State government fully backing the initiative by suspending public transport and later extending the curfew till 5 a.m. on Monday, all roads and public places wore a deserted look. Heeding the government’s call, the public largely remained indoors. A negligible number of vehicles were seen plying major roads and highways.

In Chennai, all the arterial roads, including Anna Salai, looked deserted. Many government-run Amma Unavagam outlets providing food at subsidised prices, which were kept open, reported a considerable turnout of people from marginalised sections of society.

While fuel stations were open with a minimal number of staff, they hardly had any customers. “I have never seen such a complete shutdown. We have not had a single motorist coming in for fuel till the afternoon,” said A. Kathirvel, who works at a fuel station on Cathedral Road. In a few places, however, the curfew was not complied with. For instance, in some areas in and around Royapettah in Chennai, small groups of children and youngsters took to the roads to play cricket. On the Beach Road, a few youngsters who came in bikes clicked pictures of themselves sitting on the vacant road.

In South Boag Road and Wallajah Road, where small groups of people assembled late in the evening, the police made announcements asking them to disperse.

The Prime Minister’s appeal to the public to come to their balconies and windows to give a round of applause for the health workers and other professionals who are on the front line in the fight against COVID-19 also received a resounding response. In most places, particularly apartment complexes, people came out with their families to clap and clang on plates as a gesture of appreciation. Social media was flooded with such images and videos.

Though the Centre and the State governments had said that shops selling essential commodities can remain open, such establishments remained closed.