COVID-19: Confusion about lockdown causes crowds in the evening, residents seen stocking up on essentials

Many people stepped out in the evening to stock up, as seen in these crowds at RRT, JN and JSD roads in Mulund and Ghatkopar, ahead of the second lockdown. Pics/Rajesh Gupta

The crowds were less through the day in Mulund and Ghatkopar on Tuesday, but swelled late in the evening mostly due to confusion about the exact nature of the 'lockdown' - the restrictions, so people stocked up on food and essentials.

In the evening the prime RRT Road in Mulund west was packed with people. Residents, however, said that the road is always crowded as it is a busy marketplace on the way to the railway station.

Uncertainty scares people

"I have stocked up a few things as we never know what the lockdown will turn into. It is mostly essentials, but what if we are not allowed to step out at all?" Ravindra Gharat, a resident of Raj CHS in Mulund said. He said he had bought things for two weeks, just in case. Mulund east too saw crowds at the fish market in the evening.

Shopkeepers said that they did not see a particular surge in the crowds throughout the day, but a few customers did stock up on a lot of things in the evening. "It is basically due to confusion among people as to what will remain open and what will not. Even if things are open, will people be allowed to step out?" Rasikal Meghji of Kamdhenu Traders asked.

Some don't panic

Outside Ghatkopar's Station Road in the west, there were regular crowds, but more for eatables and food than groceries. A resident, Radhika Shah, said that the new lockdown did not look strict like the earlier one. "A number of things have been allowed. So we have not stocked up on anything. And it is for just 15 days. Let us see how it goes," she said.

Daya Mehta of Jiyaram Traders in Ghatkopar said that the crowds on Wednesday were mixed, but there were more in the evening. "Some people were stocking up, some not. We have taken numbers and addresses of people and are home delivering groceries so that there are no crowds," she said.

Traders say in ‘Catch 22' situation

Traders in Mumbai on Wednesday said they were in a ‘Catch 22 situation' as the city had got no subsidy for keeping their shops closed for the next 15 days. Except one demand that ecommerce not be allowed for non-essential items, no other demand seems to have been accepted. "Section 144 has been applied and the way nakabandi has been put up everywhere to ensure no one takes the law into their hands, traders are locked in indirectly. We were hoping that the chief minister will do something or announce some package for shops in terms of relaxation in property tax or licence fees or electricity bill but nothing of that sort was announced. We shopkeepers will be locked down without any business in hand. Loss of only standalone shops' daily revenue in Mumbai is R350 crore to 1,300 crore daily in Maharashtra," Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA) president Viren Shah said.