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Janta curfew brings normal life to standstill in Assam, Manipur
Due to low passenger bookings and in view of the ‘janata curfew’, Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) has cancelled all trains originating from Saturday midnight till Sunday 10 pm.
Assam came to a near standstill on Sunday along with the rest of the country as the state observed a ‘janata curfew’ to put the brakes on the spread of coronavirus.
Streets in the state capital including the Guwahati-Shillong road, which passes through the heart of the city and connects with Meghalaya’s capital, remained deserted with very few vehicles providing essential services seen plying.
All business establishments including small shops and markets remained closed. Pharmacies, however, remained open. Essential services like ambulances, water supply etc. continued to operate.
Due to low passenger bookings and in view of the ‘janata curfew’, Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) has cancelled all trains originating from Saturday midnight till Sunday 10 pm.
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However, all those trains which were plying before Sunday 7 am will continue to operate till they reach their final destinations.
“NFR is taking all precautionary steps to discourage people from taking non-essential journeys and to encourage social distancing by the passengers for their safety to restrict spread of the virus. Trains with low occupancy are already being cancelled,” said a NFR release.
The Assam Chamber of Commerce has appealed to all business establishments to remain shut between 6 am to 9 pm on Monday as a preventive measure against coronavirus.
There is no report of any Covid-19 positive case in Assam till date. A four-year- old child who was initially said to be positive on Saturday was announced as negative for the disease after a second test.
MANIPUR
Manipur also shut down in response to PM Modi’s call for janta curfew to combat coronavirus.
Almost all roads and lanes in the state capital Imphal with a population of more than three lakh wore a deserted look since early morning with almost all residents staying indoors. All markets, business establishments across the state including iconic three ima keithels (mother’s market) in Imphal have already for closed on Saturday for five days.
There are also similar reports of observing ‘Janata curfew’ in other district headquarters in the state which have 16 districts.
