Chennai: Since there is an increasing trend in COVID cases in Chennai, Chengalpattu and Kovai, the State government extended the lockdown till August 9 without any new restrictions. The government said the places where more people will gather will be blocked. Following that, on Friday night the Chennai Corporation announced that shopping complexes and markets and big shops will be closed till August 9 to control the spread.

Adding to that, the Tambaram municipality on Saturday morning blocked the entrance of the Sanmugam Road and the Tambaram market and said shops can’t open till August 9. The shopkeepers who came to open the shops in the morning were shocked and started to argue with the police and the municipal staff for announcing without any prior information. Since it’s the third week of Aadi Krithigai, most of the people came to the market to purchase and were surprised to see the market closed.

The municipal officials said they got the order from the higher officials only at midnight and that was the reason they were not able to inform them a day before. The shopkeepers requested the municipal officials to allow them to open the shop for a day but they said they had to follow the government protocol. Later, the shopkeepers took the vegetables and fruits in a tricycle and started to sell them in various streets of Tambaram.