PUDUCHERRY: Confusion prevailed in Puducherry after shops were forced to shut down on Thursday morning following the landfall of Cyclone Nivar.
The Puducherry administration imposed Section 144 in view of the cyclone from 9 pm on November 24 to 6 am on November 26. District Magistrate Purva Garg in her order in this regard stated that the orders issued under Section 144 restrict the movement of persons except essential services and closure of shops and establishments during that period as a preventive measure. She also stated that this prohibitory order would be extended further if required, depending on the circumstances.
The shopkeepers abided by the order and kept their shops closed. Since there were no orders of extension issued before the expiry of the order and with the Chief Minister V Narayanasamy also telling newsmen in the morning that the prohibitory order under Section 144 had not been extended considering the situation, shopkeepers, restaurants and eateries opened.
However, the police forced them to close their establishments. The cops informed the shopkeepers that prohibitory orders under Section 144 had been extended till 6 pm on November 26, which came as a surprise as they had no intimation. “There was hardly any damage and the sun was shining. We had no intimation of the fresh order or when it was issued," said S Balou, Secretary of the Puducherry Traders Association.
"All prior preparations had been made by hotels, restaurants and eateries but were wasted due to the forced closure. Hence we approached the authorities and explained our position. Following this, they considered and the prohibitory order under Section 144 was rescinded at around 2 pm,” said Balou. Following the rescinding order, shops, restaurants, eateries and business establishments opened in the evening.