Daily activities in urban areas of 10 districts bordering Chhattisgarh came to a grinding halt as the weekend shutdown to contain the spread of Covid-19 came into force on Saturday.
In Koraput, revenue officials and police personnel were deployed at strategic locations in Jeypore, Kotpad, Sunabeda, Semiliguda and Kotpad early in the morning to ensure compliance of the shutdown guidelines.
Most of the business establishments and markets downed their shutters while industrial and government activities were stopped. Only emergency services were allowed.
Adhering to the shutdown norms, residents in both rural and urban areas remained indoors. Hospitals in Jeypore and Koraput witnessed a thin attendance barring a few emergency patients.
Highways and roads also wore a deserted look on the day. Members of Jeypore Chamber of Commerce and Industries welcomed the two-day shutdown.
“We support the shutdown as it is the need of the hour to tide over the second Covid wave,” said secretary V Pravakar.
On the day, Koraput reported 18 fresh Covid cases.
The situation was similar in Sundargarh district. Rourkela police were deployed at 30 strategic locations to enforce the shutdown.
Supply of non-essential supplies and services was halted while limited movement of people in exempted categories was ensured.
Before the enforcement of shutdown, Rourkela SP Mukesh Bhamoo briefed police personnel about the guidelines at Uditnagar parade ground.
Meanwhile, Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) authorities declared the IT Colony at Uditnagar as the third micro-containment zone after detection of new cases.
The district administration once again appealed to people with Covid-like symptoms to consult doctors and get tested.
In Malkangiri district, all activities were paralysed due to the shutdown.
The NH-326 passing through Malkangiri town and other roads were deserted while all commercial establishments remained closed.
Residents did not step out of their homes as the administration had conducted awareness drives before the shutdown was effected.
In view of the rapid surge in infections and mounting cases, the Odisha government on Thursday had announced weekend shutdown in urban areas of Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Balangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Koraput, and Malkangiri districts which share borders with Chhattisgarh, that has emerged as a Covid hotspot.