After residents in the city’s 241 containment zones continued to crowd around vendors to buy vegetables every day, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has decided to stop vendors in these areas. This means residents will have to depend on public representatives or social organisations to provide them vegetables at homes.
When a COVID-19 positive patient is detected, his or her location is marked as an epicentre and a radius of one-to-three kilometre area marked as containment zone. Currently, there are 241 such zones in Mumbai. Civic officials found residents of these zones flouted social distancing norms every morning to buy vegetables.
“We begged of the the people to avoid crowding, and to buy one by one. But they did not listen, defeating the very purpose of containment zones. That is why, we had to take this decision. Grocery stores will still be open, so people can adjust their diet accordingly. It is not the BMC’s job to provide vegetables, but if public representatives can do that, it should be fine,” said a senior civic official.
In Mumbai Central, shops on Arab Lane were closed on Tuesday while in Bandra West, shops on Bazaar Road, will open on alternate days.