Tamil Nadu: Lockdown within lockdown sees good response on day 1

TNN | Apr 27, 2020, 13:02 IST

Streets in Madurai

The four-day total lockdown kicked in on Sunday in major cities of the state leaving people indoors with a mixed feeling of uncertainty and hope.
The lockdown within lockdown was complete in Coimbatore corporation limits with no vehicles on any of the arterial roads for hours together. The police had put in place 34 checkpoints, intensified patrolling and deployed personnel across the city to enforce the lockdown.
All the arterial stretches --Avinashi Road, Trichy Road, Mettupalayam road, Pollachi and Sathymanangalam highways were empty. A few who ventured out were sent home and 30 people were booked for violating the curfew. “By and large there was total adherence to the lockdown,’’ city police commissioner Sumit Sharan said.
Volunteers and members of NGOs were however allowed to go around distributing food to the needy. “The curfew and curbs are worrying. I hope all this helps in eradicating the disease,” said 75 year old Palaniammal, who was seen walking all the way from Poochiyur to NGGO Colony to her daughter’s house on Sunday, a distance of 5km.
In Tirupur too, the only vehicles that were plying on the roads were those of the police, health workers and volunteers. The morning started with a few venturing out and about 50 two-wheelers were promptly seized from them. Soon, the roads turned completely empty. Besides keeping vigil from 40 odd checkpoints, the police had also deployed drones to check if people were stepping out of their houses.
Residents of Salem, however, were hit the most because of the sudden imposition of the stringent version of the lockdown. While Coimbatore, Salem and Madurai corporation had the lockdown start from Sunday morning, for Salem it started from Saturday morning. “The lockdown for Salem district was announced on Friday afternoon and it started from Saturday morning. By the time it was announced, shops were closed. So we couldn’t stock essentials,” said Nirmala Selvam, a resident of Ammapet.
Major junctions were found deserted in Madurai. Only pharmacies were open and hardly a few people turned up to purchase medicines. Police officials said empty roads reminded them of the janata curfew observed on March 22.