Vegetable vendors don role of corona warriors in Prayagraj

In a novel experiment, Khuldabad police of old city area of Prayagraj are encouraging vegetable vendors to spread awareness among people to maintain social distancing and follow other guidelines issued by the government to keep coronavirus at bay.

Vegetable vendors have joined the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in Prayagraj by spreading awareness on social distancing among people.

Police have fixed placards and small cartons on the vegetable carts containing a list of safety measures. The vendors while selling vegetables in different localities request buyers to read the guidelines and follow them for their protection against coronavirus.(HT Photo)

In a novel experiment, Khuldabad police of old city area of Prayagraj are encouraging vegetable vendors to spread awareness among people to maintain social distancing and follow other guidelines issued by the government to keep coronavirus at bay. Police have fixed placards and small cartons on the vegetable carts containing a list of safety measures. The vendors while selling vegetables in different localities request buyers to read the guidelines and follow them for their protection against coronavirus.

“Khuldabad area has a large vegetable ‘mandi’ where vendors come to buy vegetables in bulk for selling them in different localities which include densely populated areas where people were not taking the pandemic seriously”, said SHO Khuldabad inspector Vinit Singh.

Moreover, many in these areas were not aware of the guidelines and were reluctant to follow lockdown, social distancing, regular hand washing and other precautions, Singh informed.

In a bid to spread awareness among people and also among themselves, a list of vendors was prepared and they were given instructions in separate batches on how to remain safe from coronavirus infection and protect themselves while they were on work. Cartons with pamphlets of guidelines were fixed on the carts of vegetable vendors which they will carry with them and request people to read it in different localities they visit.

“As vegetable vendors roam around in different localities where they come in contact with large number of people every day, they were exposed to threat of Covid-19. If anyone of them becomes infected, they may pose a risk to not only their kin but also to many others as well,” Singh shared.

In a bid to control the spread of coronavirus, vendors were given proper instructions and tips to remain safe during work and maintain proper distance with people, he added.

Besides vegetable kiosks, guideline posters have been put up in all localities of old city area to raise awareness among the people. Enforcement of lockdown reduces risk of coronavirus spread but finally it is the awareness which will defeat the pandemic completely, circle officer Amit Kumar Srivastava said.