Relaxations extended to 90% of Pune, says PMC chief Gaikwad

On the first day of lockdown 3.0 after the government eased some curbs, residents came out on the streets in large numbers on Monday although there was confusion

On the first day of lockdown 3.0 after the government eased some curbs, residents came out on the streets in large numbers on Monday although there was confusion among shopkeepers due to lack of clarity from the administration on what should be open.

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Pune municipal commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad said that relaxation has been extended to ninety per cent part of the city, and now restrictions are applicable to ten per cent of the areas which are micro-containment zones.

Many stepped out to either visit offices or shops and were not stopped by police officials till 7pm, after which the restrictions are in place again. While the government order said that five standalone non-essential commodity shops can open on one street, more than five stores were seen operating at various places. By evening, police promised to act against unnecessary crowding.

Pune police commissioner K Venkatesham said that each shop will have to ensure social distancing. “All shops are being given notice under Section 149 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to ensure social distancing, which is the duty of the shopkeeper.”

The easing of restrictions was spelt out in an order issued by joint police commissioner Ravindra Shisve on Sunday wherein he had permitted opening of five non-essential shops any given road and at the same time permitted opening of non-essential shops in areas outside the containment zones.

At Kothrud, which has seen least number of Covid-19 cases in Pune, sweet and jewellery shops started operations while on Satara road, most shops were shut. In most parts of the city, vegetable and grocery shops were open till 6pm as against 2pm till Sunday as per the previous order.

At Thergaon and Hadapsar, medical and grocery stores were open even after 2pm. Traffic on the road was moderate and there was rush at the shops, according to police officials.

At Dange chowk in Pimpri-Chinchwad, some hardware shops were functioning with many customers. At some places, mobile repair shops were also open.

“There is no crowding at our shop. I had managed to conduct good amount of trade since morning and I will keep my shop open till 6pm,” said P Deshpande, owner of a hardware store.

Manjusha Kulkarni, a resident of Baner, said “The order talks of clusters, micro-clusters, containment zones and the outer perimeter of the city, but the task of reopening of shops has been given to the police who will decide based on the analysis of daily Covid-19 situation.

“The ideal thing should have been that the PMC administration which governs the city should itself have ordered the opening of the shops and specified the timings. Today, the shops downed the shutters before time as the police came knocking on their doors,” said Kulkarni.

In Sahakarnagar, Padmavati and Satara road- residents mainly came out to fill up fuel tanks, but there was no rush at grocery and milk shops. However, a large number of people turned up to shop for vegetables and essentials at NIBM, Undri, Mohammadwadi, Kondhwa, Salunke Vihar, Hadapsar and Market Yard on Monday.