Smart lockdown imposed in six UCs of Hyderabad
With the second wave of the pandemic causing a sudden surge in coronavirus infections in Hyderabad, the district administration enforced a smart lockdown in certain areas from Monday.
The lockdown, which will remain in place for 13 days, until December 5, will affect all commercial activities excluding pharmacies, general stores, dairies and bakeries.
All markets in three union councils of Qasimabad, two of Latifabad and one of City taluka remained closed on Monday, while law enforcement agencies placed barbed wire on the main roads. More than half of the affected localities are commercial areas, including parts of Latifabad Unit 6, Wadhu Wah Road and Naseem Nagar Chowk, among others.
Hyderabad deputy commissioner Fuad Ghaffar Soomro appealed to citizens, especially traders, to cooperate with the authorities in implementing the smart lockdown.
Residents of the sealed areas, though, complained the move was only announced late on Sunday night, adding that they were not even given a day to make provisions.
As part of the lockdown, timings for essential services have been reduced from 7am to 2pm, with pharmacies the only exception.
Moreover, all sorts of public gatherings, including private home-based events, have been banned and public transport will not be permitted to ply the roads.
Those leaving their residences will have to provide valid reasons to law enforcement authorities, besides showing their identity cards.
Meanwhile, the polio immunisation campaign in the affected areas will continue as scheduled.
By Sunday night, the number of active Covid-19 patients in Hyderabad had risen to 1,482. However, only 11 per cent of them - 167 in total - reside in the six sealed UCs.
Despite the announcement of the lockdown, only partial enforcement was witnessed on Monday. Although the commercial activities remained largely suspended, the localities in question were not sealed and traffic appeared to flow without restriction in the evening.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2020.