Gujarat announces night curfew in four cities to curb Covid-19 spread

The rising cases of Covid-19 in the state on Friday compelled the Gujarat government to impose night curfew in all four major cities including Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot for an indefinite period.

While Ahmedabad city is observing complete curfew from Friday 9 pm to Monday at 6 am, the other three cities will see only night curfew from 9 pm to 6 am on all days beginning Saturday. From Monday onwards, the government said, Ahmedabad too will be observing night curfew until further notice.

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The decision was announced by Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel in Gandhinagar who said that the core committee, which is monitoring the Covid-19 situation in the state, has decided to impose night curfew in Rajkot, Vadodara and Surat to contain the virus spread.

Replying to a question that the government didn't do anything to control the crowd during Diwali vacation leading to a rise in the infection, Patel responded: "There was not much crowding anywhere. We are seeing an increase of barely 100 cases per day compared to other states like Delhi."

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However, a notification issued by Ahmedabad collector's office stated that "to contain the virus from spreading in view of large gatherings in the market during the festivities and arrival of winter, the curfew is being imposed in the public interest under section 144 of code of criminal procedure (CrPC) 1973." This section authorises the executive magistrate to issue orders prohibiting assembly of four or more people in an area.