City ‘unlocking’ slow as night curfew reduced by only 2 hours
Bhubaneswar: The first phase of India’s unlocking kicked off on Monday but life in the capital city saw little change as the state government has relaxed night curfew only by two hours.
Night curfew will now be on from 7 pm to 5 am as compared to 7 pm to 7 am so far. This is stricter than the Centre’s advisory, which recommends night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am.
“Non-essential shops and markets will remain open till 7 pm but morning walkers can now set out for their walk at 5 am instead of 7 am. In fact, we will advise non-essential stores to see off customers at 6.30 pm as it takes time to shut the shops. The curfew will be strictly imposed,” said Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) deputy commissioner Subhendu Sahu.
With coronavirus cases still being reported in the city, many residents have welcomed the night curfew. “People are acting as if the city has got rid of the virus. This will only worsen the situation. It is good that we get to come out at 5 am instead of 7 am to start our daily chores,” said Bidhan Mishra, a resident of Bapuji Nagar.
A section of residents, however, said non-essential stores should have been allowed to remain open till 9 pm instead of 7 pm, in line with the Centre’s guidelines. Rishab Routray, a resident of Nayapalli Brit Colony, said residents had learnt how to act with restraint and follow safety measures and social distancing norms. “If we want to put the economy and life back on track, we need to stretch business hours. Closing non-essential stores at 9 pm was good enough,” he said.
The capital has recorded 60 Covid-19 cases, of which only 10 are active now. In the past 10 days, the city has recorded eight cases — all returnees from other states. On May 18, the city recorded zero active cases but it reported two cases a day later.