JAGATSINGHPUR: With Covid-19 surge showing no signs of abating, several panchayats in the district have decided to shut down weekly haats and marketplaces to bring down the infection rate.
Villagers of Padamapur panchayat in Erasama block have closed down Olara weekly haat, a major marketplace in the area, after consulting with the local traders.
Padampur sarpanch Keshab Charan Patra said, “The Olara weekly haat has been closed for a month while the daily market will remain open for 8 am to 2 pm every day. We took the decision in view of the rising number of positive cases in the locality.”
Olara weekly haat witnesses more than a thousand footfalls daily. Earlier, people were requested to strictly adhere to Covid-19 guidelines. However, villagers did not pay heed and continued to blatantly violate the norms, leading to a steep rise in positive cases.
“In view of the alarming situation, I convened a meeting between villagers and traders who agreed to shutdown the marketplaces for everyone’s safety,” Patra added.
President of Nabeghar committee, Olara Jhadeswer Kandi said the easing of lockdown restrictions resulted in large gathering at grocery, vegetable, fish and meat shops. Soon, the number of Covid-19 cases increased.
“We took the decision to close the marketplaces to check the spread of coronavirus,” he added.
Apart from Padampur, villagers of Erasama panchayat and Manadashai in Jagatsinghpur block have requested the local administration to shut down their local bazaars to prevent Covid-19 from spreading in the areas.
Last month, Rahama bazaar committee was shut down for three days after being advised by locals though the administration has relaxed the lockdown curbs.
Sources said following unlock 4.0, there has been a sharp rise in Covid-19 infections in rural areas, leaving villagers panic-stricken.
With people showing scant regard to the safety guidelines despite repeated advisories, the panchayats have decided shut down places prone to crowding to keep the virus at bay.
Meanwhile, there has been a marginal drop in daily positive cases in Jagatsinghpur. Since the last four days, the number of Covid-19 cases has dropped to less than 100 in the district.
On Thursday, as many as 83 positive cases were detected in Jagatsinghpur, taking the tally to 5,384. So far, 3,993 patients have recovered.