People across state play by the rules on first lockdown Sunday

People across state play by the rules on first lockdown Sunday

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

26.04.2021

Streets across the state looked empty on the first complete lockdown Sunday to reduce the impact of the Covid-19 second wave. A majority of the public stayed indoors and those venturing out were out visiting hospitals and pharmacies and were stopped and checked by police.

All shops except pharmacies and fuel outlets were closed. Some hotels were functioning in Coimbatore, but they offered only takeaways. Food delivery personnel were also on the streets as the government permitted delivery during fixed timings.

As many as 500 police personnel were deployed acrossCoimbatore. Hundreds of guest workershad,however, gathered at the Coimbatore Railway Junction on Saturday night and were wait- ingforDhanbad and Gorakhpur Express. Mohan Prasad, 21, of Basti district in Uttar Pradesh, who has been working for a pump manufacturing companyatThennampalayam for the past eight years, said he decided to return as his parents were worried about his safety. “I won’t get any work in my hometown. I will rear cattle and sell milk, and return when the situation becomes normal,” he told TOI.

“We are allowing people to attend funerals, ones going to hospital and people involved in essential work. Action was taken against only those who ventured out for fun,” said a police officer posted at Goripalayam junction in Madurai. But the lockdown did not go well for the homeless as they couldn’t find food.

People responded well to the total lockdown in the other southern districts as well. The Tirunelveli city police monitored various localities using a drone. Those, who were roaming on the streets were advised to return home. The Tenkasi city police distributed food to homeless people as they were deprived of food due to total lockdown.

In Trichy, all the commercial streets were completely deserted. “Arterial roads did not witness even 1% of the usual buzz. This is the most successful lockdown we have enforced since the pandemic began last March,” a police officer in Trichy city said. Those attending weddings were seen carrying the wedding invitations to avoid penalties

SCENES ACROSS TN : (from top) Deserted Kalavasal Junction; A security guard on his way to work at RS Puram, Coimbatore; A daily wage earner, a rickshaw puller was seen waiting for a ride on the total lockdown Sunday in Madurai