Monday relaxation: Heavy rush in markets, meat stalls do good business

A large number of people thronged shops and markets to purchase essential goods after two days of tough lockdown in Mysuru on Monday. The district administration had announced a tough lockdown in Mysuru district from May 29 till June 7, giving relaxation on Mondays and Thursdays, to enable the public to buy required items between 6 am and 12 noon.

People were seen gathering at the markets, shops and roadsides buying vegetables, fruits and groceries. They never bothered to follow the Covid norms like social distancing. Though the police personnel were stationed at several areas, trying to stop the unnecessary movement of vehicles, at one point, they turned mute spectators.

Usually, there are not much takers for meat and chicken on Mondays. But, this week, even the meat sellers were doing good business as the people were involved in buying the non-vegetarian food to store it to be used for Tuesday or Wednesday. The district administration had also ordered closure of meat stalls and permission given to do business only on Mondays and Thursdays. It may be mentioned that the meat sellers took exception to this claiming that both Mondays and Thursdays are no meat days and the business will be affected. They had even urged the administration to reconsider the decision.

However, all meat and chicken stalls were busy doing business on Monday between 6 am and 12 noon. Similarly, all liquor shops too were found doing good sales.

The Agriculture Produce and Marketing Committee (APMC) at Bandipalya too was overcrowded defeating the very purpose of lockdown. There was no social distancing and most of them were not wearing masks properly. A section of the people opined that the two days lockdown relaxation announced by the district administration as unscientific. The shops should be allowed to sell commodities from 6 am to 10 am on all the days. This would prevent panic buying and heavy rush, they opined.

Traffic jam was common on the day, as the vehicles were parked haphazardly near the markets, causing inconveniences to others.

However, the police swung into action after 12 noon and asked the shops to close. They also used public address system announcing the shopkeepers to close or face action.