Chandigarh wears deserted look as lockdown throws life out of gear

Tribune News Service 

Chandigarh, April 21

Normal life was affected in Chandigarh on Wednesday as the one-day lockdown imposed by the UT Administration prevented the residents from venturing out of their houses for non-essential activities.

Being a holiday, all government and private offices, markets and malls remained closed in a move aimed at checking the surge in Covid cases. The essential commodity shops and vendors dealing in food, groceries, fruits and vegetable, dairy products, drugs and medical equipment, however, remained opened.

Due to the restrictions, there was thin traffic on the roads. However, there were no curbs on inter-state movement of essential and non-essential goods and all vehicles or persons in bonafide transit were allowed to move out. Passengers going to or returning from airport, or railway or bus stand were also exempted from the curfew. 

As restaurants or eating places, hotels, including food joints/courts in various malls, were allowed to open only for home delivery, the restaurants and home delivery employees were allowed to move on production of valid ID card issued to them by their respective establishment.

The administration has exempted certain categories of people who need to go out during the curfew for necessary services and activities like vaccination, as all vaccination centres, testing centres, dispensaries and medical facilities remained open during the curfew.  

Those tasked with law and order, emergency and municipal services, police, military or paramilitary personnel in uniform, health, electricity, fire, mediapersons and government machinery tasked with Covid-19 related duties were also exempted from the curfew.