Behave yourself: Kejriwal warns Delhiites as lockdown norms thrown to wind at wine shops

Behave responsibly or else will seal your locality -- Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday issued a strong warning to people after huge crowds violated social distancing norms in front of liquor shops that were opened after a gap of 39 days during COVID-19 lockdown.

All the liquor shops in the capital, barring those in containment zones, were opened after the Centre relaxed lockdown norms but many of them were closed by police mid-way after people gathered infront of such facilities failed to maintain social distancing. In some places, police resorted to use of force to disperse the crowd.

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Kejriwal did not specifically identify liquor outlets but said it was unfortunate that chaos was witnessed near "some shops" with crowds gathering near it by throwing in air caution.

"If we come to know that people are not following social distancing norms, we will be forced to seal the area. Then there will be no option before us but to withdraw the relaxations, which were provided to slowly open up the city. Behave responsibly. If shopkeepers fail to maintain it, we will seal the shop. If social distancing norms are not followed in a locality, we will seal that area," Kejriwal warned.

He said his government will be forced to do this and whatever restrictions are put in place are done to ensure that the citizens are not harmed. "Nobody wants to be in a lockdown forever...Please follow social distancing, wear masks and sanitise your hands frequently for your own safety," he said.

Kejriwal said he was hopeful of defeating COVID-19 pandemic and referred to the way Delhi fought against Dengue. He said in 2015, there were 16,000 cases of dengue in which around 60 people lost life but last year the cases were around 2,500 and there were no deaths.

"The question before us is how to defeat COVID-19. Government alone cannot do that. Support of people is essential for it. How long can we be in a lockdown? The lockdown can be lifted fully only when we defeat COVID-19. For that, one should ensure that that we follow norms," he added.