Pune: Baramati traders to observe closure for two weeks

PUNE: Traders and shopkeepers in Baramati have voluntarily decided to close their shops for the next two weeks in view of increasing Covid-19 cases in the town.
Elected members of Baramati Municipal Council held a meeting with members of traders’ associations on Friday and unanimously took the decision.
Kiranraj Yadav, chief officer of the municipal council told TOI, “We have not issued any order regarding the closure. People themselves have decided to shut their business voluntarily. We will ensure that people do not face any inconvenience and if we receive any complaint, we will take action against those concerned. Local representatives, including president of the council, informed us on Friday that they have appealed to the people to observe a curfew in view of the increase in Covid-19 cases.”
Yadav said he categorically told the representatives that there will not be a lockdown but if people shut their shops voluntarily they will not have any issue. The town has recorded 771 cases since the outbreak of the pandemic of which 326 have been cured, 26 died and 419 are active cases till date. “We have declared 156 micro containment zones across the town to contain the spread of the virus,” Yadav added.
Pournima Taware, president of the council, said, “Baramati has been recording over 100 Covid-19 cases for the last three days. All 19 wards in the council have over 30 positive cases. If we don’t take precautionary measures, the cases will go beyond control. As a result, we appealed to people to observe a closure. We have not forced our decision on anyone.” All medical shops, hospitals and shops selling milk will remain open, she said.
Narendra Gujrathi, president of Baramati Traders Association, said, “We held a meeting with the tehsil administration on Saturday and informed them that our members will shut shops for seven days starting from Monday. Closure is the need of the hour considering the rise in cases.”
He added that tehsil and council administrations must work on enhancing health infrastructure in Baramati.