Seal Covid-19 clusters, open other zones to kick start economic activity, say Chandigarh residents

Sealing pockets with higher Covid-19 cases, designating sectors near them as ‘orange zones’ to restrict public movement will work, say Chandigarh residents who think it’s high time that services, businesses and other economic activities are given the green signal

Put the onus on people to follow safety measures

Chandigarh is a city of educated people who have followed the lockdown religiously for their safety. Social distancing and hygiene practices have already become a norm. Declaring the entire city as a containment zone when many sectors haven’t reported a single case has caused lot of resentment and disappointment. Each sector can be considered a separate unit and allowed to start functioning independently because each has its own market. The affected sectors can be sealed and disinfected regularly till zero cases are reported.

Dr Priya Mahajan, Chandigarh

Chain of infection has to be broken

Yes, sensitive pockets and areas should be identified and included under containment zone. We are well past the stipulated period to break the chain of infection. People should continue with all the precautions and social distancing. Violators including VVIPs should be dealt with strongly and booked under relevant provisions.

Rajeev Walia

Public inconvenienced

It’s not fair to declare Chandigarh as a containment zone. Only small, affected zones can be marked as such. It causes great inconvenience to the public, particularly daily wagers, small vendors and private salaried class.

TBS Bedi

Services, businesses should open

The least the administration can do is seal the most affected areas. In the others services and businesses should be allowed to operate with all precautions and less staff.

Kamal Sahni

One size does not fit all

It is not prudent to declare the entire Chandigarh UT a containment zone as one size does not fit all. Nonetheless, the blame for lapses leading to it lies squarely on overconfidence and casual approach of citizens in apprehending the nature and gravity of the pandemic. It is cruel to ban all activities alike in all areas. Prime minister Narendra Modi has aptly stressed the need to strengthen the economy while continuing with the fight against Covid-19. Collective wisdom of the Union government with wide feedback from far and near, will guide the graded lockdown exit for restarting services and businesses depending on the intensity of the disease or its eradication, in different areas and sectors in due course of time. Success of the mission depends on that of citizens’ agenda of strict self-regulation vis-a-vis adopting social distancing and personal protection. The onus lies on one and all to help end this period of trial and tribulations sooner than later.

Lalit Bharadwaj, Panchkula

Extend ban on large gatherings

Declaring a city is a containment zone means increasing frustration levels of the residents. By now the people are very aware of the restrictions and safety measures to be adopted to prevent Covid-19 so the government should relax all the norms in the city and restart semi-essential services. However, sector wise curfew should be extended and public spaces such as marriage palaces and restaurants should be closed. Delivery of essential and non-essential items, including food, should also be allowed. Special restrictions should continue in the villages and colonies which have a very large number of Covid-19 cases.

Avinash Goyal

Sanitise buildings, limit number of workers

Chandigarh is the capital of Punjab and Haryana, so to declare it a containment zone would not only halt its growth but also that of the two states. The city should be opened up slowly and carefully. First of all, special guidelines should be initiated for the safety of both the consumer and the producer. There should be limits on the number of workers employed in certain departments and shops. Markings should be done on the floors of all working areas to facilitate social distancing. Proper and regular sanitation of all public places should be done before lifting of restrictions. Even factories producing non-essential items and shops selling them should be allowed to function, to ensure that people’s financial status stabilises. Only those people who have self-isolated for a month should be allowed to work.

Naunihal Singh Gill

Ease restrictions, obey orders

It is too early to think about easing restrictions, but declaring the entire city as a containment zone will not serve any purpose. Rather, the administration and the health department should carry on upgrading the infrastructure to face unwanted situations. Nevertheless, it’s the duty of the civilians to obey the advisories to keep Covid-19 at bay. We should also keep in mind that vaccines for treating the disease have not been developed, so avoiding infections is the best option.

Surinder Paul Wadhwa, Mohali

Restart businesses in phases

Sealing of pockets of infection seems to be a good option. Businesses should be opened in phases depending on their nature and necessity. Small and medium scale businesses and shopkeepers should be allowed to open in the first phase. Initially, there should be rebate on cess, taxes and fixed charges from the administration. Manufacturing units should also be opened after taking appropriate precautionary measures with proper social distancing norms followed by the citizens. Those found violating norms should be named and shamed publicly.

Madhur Sharma

Role of citizens crucial

The number of hotspots in the city indicates that the Covid-19 patient count is not very high. The areas where cases have been reported have also been swiftly contained by the authorities. However, now the role of citizens is a principal concern. The time has come when everybody has to give up their regular habits to efficienty execute their services, mode of operation of businesses, public dealings and commuting, by maintaining social distancing at every level. We should also keep ourselves updated on the latest news, authenticated articles, and be responsible when it comes to social media use.

Dev Raj Veer Singh, Mohali

Save daily wagers

In order to save daily wagers it is essential that the city be divided into three to four zones according to police station or sub-divisional magistrate jurisdictions and the most affected ones remain closed with commercial activities allowed in others by following precautionary measures.

Suresh Verma, Chandigarh

Continue working from home

At this juncture it seems almost impossible to remove Chandigarh from the containment zone list. People of the city are more concerned about their health instead of their businesses and work. The best option seems to be working from home. Opening up businesses won’t make sense as around 80% of the raw material is obtained from factories located in other areas.

Priyam Aggarwal, Chandigarh

Monitor colonies on periphery

Economic activities cannot be postponed any more in spite of the Covid-19 threat. Educated citizens of Chandigarh are following the norms of the lockdown. They have donated money even beyond their capacity to coronavirus funds. The colonies on the periphery need close monitoring and testing lest they become virus hubs like Delhi. Strict action should be taken against the violators of restrictions. Let shops dealing in both the essential goods and sundry items remain open for three to four hours.

Usha Verma, Chandigarh

Complete lockdown will destroy economy

Covid-19 is a disease that most of us, including experts, don’t understand. So declaring Chandigarh a containment zone is not based on scientific facts. In countries like Germany and India the death rate is low. So for a very small minority we are keeping everyone in lockdown. A good positive is that many asymptomatic people have the virus despite remaining healthy. They should be tested with the virus strain identified and used to build ‘herd immunity.’ Complete lockdown will slowly destroy the economy. The daily wage earners are suffering already. So we need to start opening up businesses and services gradually and keep the elderly, those with underlying conditions and the ailing protected. Farming and industries have to be started.

S Michael Durairaj

Blanket restrictions counterproductive

We have learnt a lot about the Covid-19 pandemic and realised that there are a number of factors responsible for the lower fatality rates in our country, which includes higher level of immunity, genetic reasons, food habits, BCG vaccination etc. A large percentage of people have been found asymptomatic even after getting infected. In my opinion blanket restrictions at this stage will only prove counterproductive, especially for the economy of the country. People are now fully sensitised to the problem and can live with Covid-19 by following basic precautions. The government also issued revised guidelines not to seal the whole building but the only floor where Covid-19 cases had been detected. Similarly, infected patients will also be categorized and those with mild symptoms allowed to quarantine at home. Considering all of this, there appears to be no need to declare all of Chandigarh as a containment zone.

Paramjeet Singh, Zirakpur

Lift curfew, impose Section 144

Chandigarh has had a very sharp surge of cases in last few days. We see no respite from the lockdown. But here are some suggestions to keep Covid-19 cases under check while allowing economic activities to resume. The city should be divided in zones and sectors adjacent to areas with a high rate of infections should be in the orange zone. Curfew should be lifted in other zones and section 144of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), prohibiting the assembly of four or more people in an area. to be imposed instead. The Industrial Area has seen no case so far, economic activities should resume there with one-fourth of work force. Non essential shops should open for restricted hours and public movement for restricted hours allowed .

Noor Malhotra, Chandigarh

Residents should act with utmost restraint

Safeguarding lives against Covid-19 is a priority, therefore, declaring Chandigarh a containment zone is prudent. However, the effectiveness of this crucial curb would depend on each citizen taking full responsibility to strictly follow the Chandigarh administration’s orders concerning lockdown/curfew. Residents should act with utmost restraint to stay back home and follow adequate standard of personal hygiene. Services and businesses should be started in a phased manner so that social distancing is maintained and people protected. Improvements for the next phase should be introduced on the basis of the feedback of the previous one(s). The police and volunteers should keep a strict watch on service providers, businessmen and the public to ensure that all advisories are followed.

Dr SS Bhatti, Chandigarh