HYDERABAD: Faced with a rising number of Covid-19 cases, Begum Bazar, one of the busiest commercial areas of Hyderabad, has gone into a self-imposed semi-lockdown. The Hyderabad Kirana Merchants’ Association, on Thursday, asked its members to change working hours from 9 am to 5 pm in the wake of about 100 people in the area testing positive over the last few weeks. Previously, activity in the area would start at 11 am and go on till 9 pm.
Association general secretary Mahesh Kumar Gupta urged all members to maintain social distance and ensure it is practised by customers as well. His press note said, “Please ensure 100% mask compliance amongst yourselves. In case customers don’t wear masks, request them to do so or provide them with one. Every shop must also place a sanitiser outside so that hand hygiene can be maintained,” added Gupta.
“These steps have been put in place so that the lives of the traders, their families and customers remain safe. No death has been reported yet, but the way cases are surpassing last year’s count is not a good sign,” said Gupta. In June, 2020 too, Begum Bazar had gone into a self-imposed lockdown as cases rose.
Guidelines for local body polls
Keeping in view the fresh surge of Covid-19 cases and in order to curb the risk of community spread of the virus, the Telangana State Election Commission (TSEC) has issued guidelines to be followed during the conduct of ordinary and casual elections to the local bodies in the State. Every person should wear mask during every election related activity. At the entry of the polling stations, and at premises used for election purposes, sanitisers should be made available and social distancing should be maintained. In addition to this, an adequate number of vehicles should be mobilised for movement of polling personnel and security personnel to ensure Covid-19 compliance