Others

People consider weekend closing of shops illogical

While the members of Doon Udyog Vyapar Mandal (DUVM) have decided to keep their shops closed for the next three weekends supposedly to minimise the risk of Covid-19 contagion among the locals and shopkeepers, the general public opined that a two-day closure of shops in a week for the three next weeks is not going to halt the spread of contagion and termed this move irrational.

According to a local resident Tej Singh, when the State government has not ordered to shut down the shops in marketplaces during the increasing rate of Covid-19 cases, it must be because of some valid reasons. “I am sure if we could possibly bring the number of Covid cases down by just closing marketplaces two times a week, the administration would have already it. This contagion is not going to disappear so soon, that is why all we can do is to take appropriate precautions and continue to live our life,” said Singh. Some people also added that since the Sundays are already closed, closing shops on Saturdays is just a way to create more problems for locals. “People who have the privilege of earning while sitting at home can think about shutting down bazaars during such financial crises. Besides, a common man gets the time to shop mainly on weekends. The shops already remain closed on Sundays but now many will be closed on Saturdays too. When will those people buy things who work from 9 AM to 6 PM every day? I live with my old parents who cannot go shopping, so I go shopping every second and fourth Saturday with my mother and also spend some quality time with her. Also, I think it is absurd to shut down marketplaces due to Covid-19 contagion because one can also catch this virus on other days too. I fail to understand the logic behind this move,” said Sandhya Dwivedy, a local teacher. 

Many locals opined that instead of closing shops for just three Saturdays to lessen the risk of Covid-19, the businessmen should spread awareness and adopt strict measures against people who enter in the marketplaces for shopping.  “It is like giving false assurance and making people believe that something concrete is being done to prevent contagion. It is not just misleading but it is wrong too which can give people an impression that two days lockdown can do wonders to prevent Covid-19 disease,” opined Jeevan Negi, a resident of Rajpur. Meanwhile, the members of DUVM stated that they will keep the shops closed on Saturday in the main market areas while the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) will sanitise such places in all the 100 wards on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday, 19 September 2020 | PNS | Dehradun

Related Articles

Back to top button