Kalaburagi, which has already been in lockdown mode for a week following India’s first COVID-19 casualty with the death of a 76-year-old man on March 10 and subsequent restrictions by the district administration on people’s movement and activities as a precautionary measure to prevent coronavirus from further spreading, went into a complete shutdown mode on Sunday to observe Janata Curfew called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In the morning, a few people were found here and there buying milk near road corners on the fringes of their residential localities. However, the city came to a standstill wearing a deserted look as the day passed. Nobody was to be seen on the roads and pavements of the city, except for security guards outside some shopping malls and multiplexes that were closed, police personnel at some traffic circles, a couple of police vehicles on patrol and a few curious youngsters roaming on two-wheelers to have an experience of riding on empty roads.
A couple of government vehicles that were engaged for spreading awareness about the preventive measures to curb the deadly COVID-19 were found making announcements through loudspeakers.
Barring a few exceptions, even those that were categorised as establishments offering essential services and commodities and allowed to operate during the earlier lockdown, such as hospitals, pharmacies, grocery shops, petrol pumps and vegetable and fruit shops, were closed.
