Sunday, 23 May 2021 | PNS | Kotdwar
With the state government focusing on strict implementation of the Covid curfew, people in the state favour the step but state that certain practical problems need to be resolved. This comes at a time when there is uncertainty as to whether the state will once again extend the Covid curfew when it ends on May 25.
Shruti Ruwali of Nainital said, “The Covid-curfew is important to control the surge in cases but the government has not designed it properly. There should be a timetable made for shops in which shops of every category should be allowed to open on different days of the week. A few days ago I had my exams and I needed to go to a cyber cafe for some urgent work but it got delayed for days due to the curfew. So how does someone choose what is essential and what not in such unprecedented times?”
“It’s an insensitive decision to open a grocery store just once a week. Who knows when I’ll need what? I have a three-year-old kid and I can’t predict what I need for an entire week,” said homemaker Nisha Juyal.
“We are all confined to our home but our daily needs are still the same and vegetables and groceries are not the only essential items during the Covid curfew,” said Saurabh Kumar of Dehradun is working from home.
He added “I needed to change a part of my mobile phone but I can’t because those shops are not even allowed to open. This is also important and I have seen many like me who needed something but can’t have it due to this curfew.”
Jyoti Nailwal of Haridwar said, “The authorities realised late that ration shops should be opened daily and not twice a week but the decision to open grocery shops just once a week was a clear invitation to crowding and public inconvenience. It would be better to open grocery shops at least on alternate days.”
In small towns where there are only fixed stores in some places things become riskier for the public. Deepsikha Negi of Pauri said, “There are only a few shops for too many people in my locality which results in huge crowds outside shops. The crowd makes it riskier to visit such shops. Such shops should be opened at least till 1 pm or for some hours in the evening too.”
A grocery shopkeeper in Kotdwar said, “Last week I had to pay challan when I was 15 minutes late in closing my shop as I still had some customers left. Opening for a few hours is too little to manage so many customers and along with that, we had to maintain social distancing among customers. When the shop was last opened some days ago some customers left disappointed as the stock of groceries like bread and buns soon got over.”
