ADILABAD/SANGAREDDY/KHAMMAM/NIZAMABAD: Villages in Telangana have taken the coronavirus lockdown a lot more seriously than the townsfolk, as residents have begun barricading entry and exits points to prevent visitors from coming in. In agency areas of Adilabad, for instance, village sarpanches have come forward to close the main roads and guard the barricades.
The villagers of Adagaon passed a resolution on Tuesday to block the entry and exit roads. "If anyone is in need of essentials, they need not go out. The village development committee (VDC) members and panchayat officials are here to meet their requirements," a villager said. Barricades were erected in Dhima village too. In Sangidi village, meanwhile, the mandal revenue officer and other staff shut the border between Adilabad and Maharashtra by erecting fences.
Youth take charge
In Sangareddy district, a few villages have passed resolutions to barricade the roads. Youngsters here have risen to the occasion and are trying their best to restrict public movement. Meanwhile, Andole MLA Chanti Kranti Kiran has directed all village sarpanches to close all the routes in the villages owing to the lockdown. Further, several shops in the rural areas are urging people to maintain at least 1-metre distance from each other.
Trenches in bordering villages
Residents of Vepagunta village in Khammam have closed entry points using logs. Dhammapet village, which neighbours Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, will see no visitors as villagers have dug trenches around the borders.Speaking to the media, P Ramu, a villager said, "Due to the Coronavirus scare, we are not letting anyone in or out of our village. We will support the government’s fight against coronavirus and stay at home."
No-entry boards
In Nizamabad, several village development committees (VDC) have launched initiatives to prevent people from entering their villages. At any cost, they want to prevent the spread of coronavirus and thus have erected barricades, apart from installing no-entry boards at village entry points. They are also closely monitoring public movement within the village. The committees, meanwhile, are on the lookout for people showing symptoms of coronavirus in the neighbourhood.