Coronavirus control measures in place in Hyderabad as city wears deserted look

HYDERABAD: A day after the state government announced its two-pronged action plan to curb the spread of Coronavirus, Hyderabad wore a deserted look on Sunday as cinema halls, educational institutions, gyms, swimming pools, zoo and museums remained closed.

All the main attractions in the city that locals and tourists usually flock to, including Hyderabad Zoo, Salar Jung Museum, Lumbini Park, NTR Garden, Planetarium or Science museum, were shut denying the city folks an opportunity to venture out and enjoy their outing on a day when the temperature almost touched 36 degree Celsius.

Though most of the city parks, where a large number of residents regularly turn up either for morning or evening walks, remained open but they witnessed thin attendance. 

Even the city malls which usually witness huge crowds on Sundays, witnessed a drastic decline in footfall as the multiplexes remained shut, indicating tough times for those who have their stores located inside malls.

In most malls across the city, testing of temperature to identify suspected cases of Coronavirus was missing. There was not much passenger crowed on Metro trains as well.

As CM K Chandrashekar Rao announced on Saturday evening that all educational institutions should remain closed till March 31, the State and Central government universities issued notification, declaring suspension of classes till end of month.

However, the KNR University of Health Sciences declared holiday only for MBBS students, and not interns or PG students.

While the Education Department issued orders regarding closure of all institutions in the State, the Excise Department also issued notification regarding closure of bars, clubs and permit rooms in State.

However, while most of the city remained deserted, Old City remained lively as many people were seen shopping in the markets around Charminar.

The monuments under Archaeological Survey of India in the city, Charminar and Golconda Fort remained open and saw a thin influx of tourists.