Patna administration has ordered shops in the district to open on three days a week following an odd-even formula and it also staggered the timings of their operation to prevent crowding amid the alarming surge in Covid-19 cases in Bihar. The state reported 7,487 new Covid cases on Monday including 2,672 in Patna alone, said officials.
Patna district magistrate (DM) Chandrashekhar Singh on Monday divided all shops into three categories and said essential commodity-related businesses will now be allowed to operate daily till 6pm, an hour less than the earlier deadline of 7pm. These include outlets selling medicines, grocery, vegetables, automobile parts, construction materials, petrol pumps, e-commerce and telecom operations.
Put in the second category, shops selling electrical goods, furniture and jewellery and saloons are allowed to operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while shops dealing in clothes, footwear, utensils, sports and agriculture equipment will be allowed to operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
A team of officials will monitor the implementation of this new regime, the DM said. “Residents should buy commodities from their nearest area. Wearing a face mask is mandatory for all. Shop owners are responsible for maintaining social distancing at their shops. Those shops found violating norms will be shut down.”
All educational institutions, cinema halls, shopping malls, clubs, gymnasiums, stadiums and parks in the district will remain closed till May 15, said Singh.
“No university or college will conduct any exam during the closure period. Educational institutions are supposed to only conduct online classes,” he added. All government offices have been ordered to close by 5pm and night curfew will be in force from 9pm to 5am during the period. However, there is no restriction on inter-district or inter-state movement.
The order comes in the backdrop of an unprecedented spurt in Covid cases in the last one month and the addition of 8,690 new cases in the last 24 hours, taking the tally of active cases closer to 50,000 in the state. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ruled out a lockdown in the state and asked district officials to take measures to ensure there was no crowding and Covid-appropriate behaviour was followed.
