‘Janata curfew’, a social distancing exercise called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of the strategy to combat the coronavirus, evoked spontaneous response from people in Prakasam and SPSR Nellore districts.
People voluntarily confined themselves to their houses across Nellore district, where a student from Italy is being treated for COVID-19, as also in Prakasam district, where a student who had returned from London tested positive for the disease.
Among other areas, Stonehousepeta, Kanakamahal Centre, K.V.R.Petrol bunk centre in Nellore wore a deserted look as also the Bapuji Market complex, Trunk Road, Kurnool Road and Gandhi Street in Ongole. Those who came from other places rushed to their houses from the bus station and the railway station using different modes of transport, including autorickshaws, before the curfew started at 7 am.
A pat for tireless workers
People briefly came out of their houses at 5 pm to clap to express solidarity with the doctors, nurses, sanitary workers, revenue and police personnel for their yeoman services in containing the spread of the disease.
Traffic on the arterial Chennai-Kolkata highway came to a standstill for more than 14 hours as also rail traffic on the Grand Trunk route as railway authorities cancelled or regulated the running of trains during the curfew period.
For the first time in the 154-year-old history of the Jewett Memorial Baptist church in Ongole, mother of Baptist churches in South India, Sunday prayers were cancelled. Some of the places of worship in the Ongole denomination of churches, including those run by Manna Ministries and Hosanna Ministries arranged for livestreaming of the prayers for the benefit of the devout.
The Ranganayukula Swamy temple in Nellore and the Tripurntakeswara temple in Tripurantakam in Prakasam district remained closed after completing daily rituals early in the day.
Owners of small-time eateries and tea stalls also took part voluntarily in the people’s curfew and vowed to break the chain of the disease.
