Night curfew brings Andhra Pradesh to halt
Eluru Road in Vijayawada wears a deserted look as night curfew comes into force at 10 pm on Saturday
Andhra Pradesh has sounded a high alert with the rapid increase in the number of positive cases for Covid-19 in the last few days and has imposed night curfew from Saturday bringing the activities in the State to a grinding halt between 10 pm and 6 am.
Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh has sounded a high alert with the rapid increase in the number of positive cases for Covid-19 in the last few days and has imposed night curfew from Saturday bringing the activities in the State to a grinding halt between 10 pm and 6 am.
Saturday being the first day of night curfew, there was some confusion in the streets and people were seen rushing back home from 9 pm onwards. Some people were seen moving on roads a little past 10 pm and the police asked them to rush back and told them that strict action would be taken from Sunday if anyone was found on road during the curfew hours.
All shops and commercial establishments pulled down shutters by 9 pm. Cinema halls are also making changes in show timings to ensure that the first show ends by 9 pm at any cost. There will be no second show.
However, the government has exempted emergency services from the curfew. They include medical shops, petrol bunks, LPG, CNG, petroleum and gas outlets, telecom services, internet services, electricity offices, drinking water supply, milk supply, sanitization, private security services, food supply, print and electronic media, ambulances, those going to airport or railway station or coming from those places will have to show the ticket as a proof.
Similarly, pregnant women and patients for the purpose of receiving medical care will also have to produce medical documents. Public transport services, including autorickshaws, and taxis will be allowed during curfew time for transporting above mentioned people. All inter-state and intra-state movement of essential and non-essential goods will continue without hindrance. No separate permission/ pass will be required for movement of essential and non-essential goods. It may be mentioned here that night curfew had become necessary as the Covid-19 cases in the State had crossed one million. On Saturday, 11,698 new cases were reported in the State and the active cases shot up to 81,471. On the other hand, the death rate is also on the high side.
