There was an unprecedented rush at railway and bus stations across the integrated old district on Monday in the wake of the announcement of holidays for educational institutions till March 31 as a precaution against COVID-19. With cinema halls, bars, pubs, parks, gyms and swimming pools remaining closed, most vehicles stayed off the roads and autorickshaws were sparsely seen.
With people preferring to stay cooped up indoors, the roads wore a deserted look in the afternoon. Corporate business malls and small businesses were also affected. Sale of poultry products drastically reduced. Chicken was priced at ₹50-₹80 per kg while a dozen eggs were being sold at ₹42.
Srinivas, owner of Kwality supermarket in Subashnagar, said his business has dipped by almost 50% as schools and colleges have declared holidays. Sales at fuel stations, hotels and restaurants were also affected as a sizeable chunk of people have left for their native places.
Meanwhile, the number of devotees increased at certain important temples, given that Monday is considered auspicious. Venu, executive officer of the famous Kanteswar temple here, said they witnessed rush since early morning as holidays were announced.
Legal matters
The Bar Association, in its emergency meeting held at the District Court Complex, resolved to stay away from attending legal matters in courts in consonance with the circular issued by the Supreme Court following COVID-19 fear, said association president A. Ramesh and general secretary P. Sreedhar.
TS Bar Council member M. Rajender Reddy said holidays should be declared for courts to avoid crowding of litigants. Senior advocates M. Govardhan and E. Ganapathi called upon the judges to take up only emergency cases.
