Lockdown doesn’t deter people from Tamil New Year shopping

TNN | Apr 14, 2020, 04.44 AM IST

Madurai: The city on Monday morning had signs of normalcy with people shopping for groceries and fruits in large numbers whilst maintaining social distancing, as the Tamil New Year falls on Tuesday.

“It is not going to feel like a New Year as we are going to stay indoors. But it is considered auspicious to have essentials like sugar, oil, salt, turmeric etc, so I came out for shopping,” said Tharani from Anna Nagar.

She was among many other residents who had decided to get their commodities home delivered and contacted the numbers circulated in WhatsApp groups. “But, when I called the concerned shop, they told me to come and collect them as delivering goods in the contained areas is banned,” she said.

All the shops had their display windows shut. While some stores in Anna Nagar checked the body temperature and asked people to sanitize their hands before entering the shops, others just urged them to maintain social distancing.

“Minimal crowds in shops and empty streets seem to be an example of what it is going to be like during the first few days after the lockdown is extended,” said Mayailvaganan of K K Nagar. “One thing is for sure, life is never going to be the same,’’ he added.

“The only thing we are missing is the flowers. It’s nowhere to be found in the city,” said Rani of Vilangudi.

Meanwhile, some meat stalls and roadside eateries selling idlies and paniyarams were seen functioning near the Karimedu fish market It saw a steady flow of customers. A police personnel on duty in Anna Nagar said they were ensuring that the people maintained social distancing. They let people stand in the queue till 1 am to finish their shopping considering the Tamil New year.