Curfew : shops open for two hours, banks closed in these areas of Pune

Pune, April 7, 2020: After Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) sealed several areas of Pune from today, Pune City police have come out with set new rules for people, shops and businesses.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Ravindra Shisve issued an order under section 144 (1) (3) of the CrPC and banned people from standing on the road, driving a vehicle in the sealed areas.

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Shops selling essential commodities like vegetable, fruit, milk, grocery (Kirana) will remain open only between 10 am to 12 noon. If there is a crowd at these shops, police will close them and send people home. Also, all banks will remain closed and only ATMs will be open.

All the shops have to maintain social distancing among customers. They should use masks, gloves and hand sanitizers. Police may change timing depending on circumstances in future.

Police have also cancelled all (digital/QR code) passes given to people to use their vehicle. If anybody is living in the sealed area and his/her workplace is located anywhere else, the company should make arrangements to stay in (nearby) the office.

Areas sealed at present

According to Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials, the areas sealed from today are Mahrishinagar, Gultekdi, Marketyard, Swargate, Guruwar Peth, Shukrawar Peth, Ganesh Peth, Bhavani Peth, Kasewadi, Ghorpade Peth, Mominpura, Nana Peth, Raviwar Peth, Rasta Peth, Somwar Peth, Mangalwar Peth, Kasba Peth.

Also areas in Kondhwa including Ashoka Mews, Mithanagar, Sant Gadge Maharaj School, Shalimar society, Bramha Avenue, Kumar Prithvi, Malik Nagar areas.

In these areas, barricades will be put up and people will not be allowed to move out for the next few days (deadline not declared). Police will be deployed to take action against people who violate this complete shutdown or lockdown rule. All these steps are being taken as per containment plan to deal with Coronavirus outbreak. People engaged in essential services will be allowed to move out or move in these areas. Essential commodities shops will remain open.

Coronavirus Postive cases rise

Today morning three more persons died to Coronavirus in Pune and with this total death toll has reached eight. All three are above 60 years and also suffered from other ailments like kidney, high blood pressure and kidney. The number of positive has reached 155 in Pune district.

Pune District Collector Naval Kishore Ram said, “Three deaths have been reported in Pune today. All patients were #COVID19 positive and are cases of comorbidity. Death toll in Pune rises to eight.”

Health Emergency Declared in Pune

Pune Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad yesterday declared a health emergency in Pune and sealed all areas from Mahrishinagar to RTO including Peth area, to contain the spread of Coronavirus outbreak, as many Corona positive patients are from these areas.

The number of Corona positive patients under the PMC limit has reached 114 and 5 of them have died. In the whole district, there are 142 positive cases as on April 6 and these numbers will rise further, PMC officials said.

As per containment plan declared by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, geographic quarantine (cordon sanitaire) strategy calls for near-absolute interruption of movement of people to and from a relatively large defined geographic area where there is a single large outbreak or multiple foci of local transmission of COVID-19. In simple terms, it is a barrier erected around the focus of infection.

PMC Commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad issued the order and directed local police stations to enforce the containment plan. “These steps are being taken as large numbers of infected patients are from these areas. Every day numbers of positive cases are increasing even after taking several measures to prevent the spread of COVID19. Therefore health emergency is being declared in Pune as more stringent steps are needed now”, the order states.

PMC Commissioner further added in his order, “Therefore we are restricting the movement of vehicles and people in these areas which are being sealed. All people living there have to compulsorily wear masks. All Peth areas between Mahrishinagar to RTO, some parts of Kondhwa, as well as some other areas under different police stations (as depicted in the map) are being sealed from April 6 midnight till further order. Some other areas will be sealed in future in phases keeping in mind the number of Corona patients in those areas. Therefore, people are requested to stock necessary things for at least seven days.”