Rattled by COVID-19, Bihar put under an 11-day lockdown
An 11-day complete lockdown was imposed on Wednesday in Bihar where the authorities had a tough time ensuring compliance from people. Police personnel had begun patrolling the streets since early in the morning, anticipating heavy rush and overcrowding between 7 to 11 am, the four-hour period during which shops selling vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, and grocery items have been allowed to do business.
Police was seen having trouble dealing with the crowd
Owners of many shops, not dealing in items deemed as essentials, were made to down their shutters, besides being slapped with fines, by the men in uniform. The policemen were also seen striking their canes against the ground to disperse people who had gathered at shops or around hand-pulled vegetable and fruit carts throwing physical distancing norms to the wind.
Patna HC had pressed Bihar government to impose restrictions
The lockdown from May 5 to 15 was announced by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday on his official Twitter handle. The announcement came a day after the Patna High Court pressed the panic button and told Kumar's government that it will have to pass a judicial order if the state failed to show the resolve to impose restrictions to curb the infection.
Certain businesses complained of ambiguity in order
Meanwhile, many people complained that the guidelines issued by the state home department have left plenty of room for ambiguity. "We are in the restaurant business. The guidelines say we can do home delivery of food from 9 am to 9 pm but in the same breath, they add that restaurants have to remain closed," a resident said.
Confusion over guidelines has left people to fend for themselves
"Why could they not be more specific and make it clear if our kitchens are allowed to function and our delivery boys are allowed to perform their jobs," said a Boring Road resident. A male nurse, who visits Shri Krishna Nagar from Sipara, about five kilometers away, to attend to an elderly patient, was also frazzled by confusion about public transport.
A commuter informed how autorickshaw driver bribed constables
"It is not clear whether or not auto rickshaws are allowed to ply. During my commute today, the driver of the three-wheeler I rode paid bribes to constables at three places," he said. "The burden fell on my shoulders. The autorickshaw driver insisted that I give Rs. 50. How are we going to survive in this manner? We have limited means," he said.
Bihar reported 104 deaths due to COVID-19 yesterday
Some of the businessmen and residents, whose behavior was deemed to be recalcitrant, also ended up being arrested. The number of arrests made, vehicles seized and amount of money recovered by way of fines are likely to be provided by the state police headquarters by the evening. Meanwhile, Bihar reported 14,794 cases yesterday, crossing the 524K-mark. 2,926 deaths have been registered in Bihar.
