Lockdown restrictions ignored in most areas
The district administration has announced sealing of seven more areas of the provincial capital under the government’s smart lockdown policy to rein in the rising number of coronavirus cases in Wapda Town, EME DHA, Green Town, Chungi Amar Sadhu Main Bazaar and specific parts of Johar Town and Township.
However, despite a significant increase in the number of coronavirus patients, the local administration has failed to impose a lockdown in different areas of the provincial metropolis as announced on Wednesday.
As per the government’s decision, the district administration had announced sealing of seven coronavirus hotspots to prevent further spread of the virus from Wednesday midnight.
It was announced that a strict lockdown would be enforced in C-Block of Johar Town and Sector A2 of Township, while the situation on the ground was altogether different.
A survey of the selected areas of Township, Johar Town and DHA showed no restriction on the movement of citizens and traffic. A crown was seen in all the areas where the government had announced the smart lockdown.
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Speaking to The Express Tribune, a resident of Township’s Sector A2, Muhammad Irfan, highlighted that the police had placed barriers on entry and exit points of their neighbourhood but no other restriction had been imposed in the area.
He pointed out that all shops and markets were open and people were moving around freely. He said at least six causalities had been reported in his neighbourhood owing to different medical complications during the past month or so.
Similarly, a citizen of EME DHA, Saad Siddiqui, said that earlier there were some restrictions on the movement of citizens in his area but now life had become normal. “I heard through the media that the government has decided to impose a lockdown in my neighbourhood but I did not observe any restriction,” he maintained.
Asim Shah from Johar Town C-Block highlighted that on Wednesday evening, local police had installed tents and left the area. He also pointed out that all shops and markets in his area were open and citizens were travelling freely.
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Earlier on July 1, the provincial government had extended the smart lockdown till July 15 for selected areas while lifting restriction imposed in the previous stage in some blocks and streets of Canal View Housing Society, Wapda Town, PCSIR Society, DHA (Phase I,III,V), Askari X, Kareem Park, Old Anarkali, Shadbagh, Darogawala and other areas.
Official statistics revealed that so far, 84,587 coronavirus cases have been reported in Punjab. On Thursday, the highest number of new cases was reported in Lahore at 466. Meanwhile, 63 new cases surfaced in Rawalpindi, 33 in Kasur, 22 in Sheikhupura, 14 in Chakwal, 22 in Gujranwala, three in Attock, 12 in Jehlum and three in Nankana Sahib.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2020.