Coimbatore district went into complete lockdown from 5 p.m. on Saturday in an effort to control the spread of COVID-19. However, several shops saw people rushing to buy the weekend needs before the lockdown.
Supermarkets and grocery shops saw higher than usual crowd till evening in several areas. Tasmac outlets in the district witnessed rush on Saturday evening as sales were wound up by 5 p.m. The police said that they had to control buyers at a few outlets in the city and rural areas.
Dorairaj Chinnasamy of Pazhamudhir Nilayam says the supermarkets saw a rush from morning till 2 p.m. or so and the demand was mainly for fruits and vegetables. MGR Market traders said they had to stop about 100 tonnes of vegetables from coming to the city on Saturday evening as they would not be able to unload it because of the lockdown.
The lockdown will end at 6 a.m. on Monday and MGR market will start functioning from 6 a.m. However, normal functioning and arrival of vegetables will be only on Tuesday, they said. Anna Market traders, who have stalls at GCT campus, said they will open the shops at about 5 a.m. on Monday.
The police and revenue department officials also stopped vehicles at several checkpoints in the district after 5 p.m. They imposed fine on motorists who crossed the check points after 5 p.m., though many of them claimed that they were unaware of the complete lockdown starting Saturday evening.
The police registered cases against motorists who violated prohibitory orders. At Karumathampatti, tahsildar Meenakumari and police inspector Shanmuam led the vehicle check.
Ukkadam to Karumbukadai road, where the flyover works are going on, witnessed heavy traffic on Saturday evening with two-wheelers moving slowly. A video of the traffic congestion on the stretch was shared widely on social media.