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Pune opens up partially on first day of Lockdown 4.0
As per the new directives issued by Pune municipal commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad on Tuesday, public transport, cabs, autos, malls, saloons, restaurants and cafes are not allowed to function in Pune city which is part of a red zone district.
Wednesday morning began with a new hope for the shopkeepers on Laxmi Road, one of the oldest market places in Pune, as the city embarked on Covid-19 lockdown 4.0 allowing resumption of a large number of economic activities.
As per the new directives issued by Pune municipal commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad on Tuesday, public transport, cabs, autos, malls, saloons, restaurants and cafes are not allowed to function in Pune city which is part of a red zone district.
Establishments selling electronics, computers, mobiles, clothes, hardware, tailoring services, stationery, laundry services, home appliances and other goods, can be opened on certain days of the week. Masks are mandatory in public places and shops have to close for business after 7 pm. Housemaids have been allowed to resume duty in non-containment areas.
With these new guidelines, a large number of shutters went up and shops opened-up after remaining closed for more than two months. Laxmi Road, Bajirao Road, Tilak Road and J M Road were among the prominent shopping area in west Pune which were slowly limping back to life on Wednesday.
As of Tuesday, Pune registered 207 deaths due to Covid-19 and 3,747 positive cases. The number of micro-containment zones in the city was reduced from 69 to 45 even as 19 new areas were added to this list in preparation for lockdown 4.0.
Dhiraj Parmar, proprietor of D K Traders, a clothes shop on Laxmi Road said, “Today after almost 60 days we are opening our shop. We are doing the cleaning and checking of stocks. We will ensure proper social distancing. Our main problem is the absence of our employees who have gone back to their villages.”
Mahendra Bora, a cloth merchant said business had been hit badly. “We have given salaries to our staff, most of who have gone back to their states and are not willing to come back this year. It is going to be difficult for us to run our shop without them,” he said.
Yogendra Ashtekar, owner of Yogendra Ashtekar Jewellers on Laxmi Road said he was opening his shop after 65 days. He said apart from following all the guidelines, they were ensuring “footwear sanitisation” of every customer along with hand sanitisation, he said.
