Lockdown relaxations evoke tepid response in Bengal; liquor shops see huge crowd

Kolkata, May 5 (PTI) The resumption of economic activity on the first day of the lockdown relaxations evoked tepid response across West Bengal on Tuesday, even as chaos continued to prevail outside liquor shops where tipplers threw social distancing norms to the wind.

The first train carrying over 1,100 stranded labourers and pilgrims from Rajasthan arrived at the Dankuni railway station in Hooghly district. They were subjected to thorough medical check-up and then sent back to their homes, where they will remain in home quarantine for the next 14 days.

A handful of standalone shops, which sell non-essential items, reopened on Tuesday -- after a gap of 42 days -- only in few green zones despite the state government announcing a host of relaxations on Monday to perk up the economy.

Such outlets and business establishments remained shut in the red and orange zones, and the containment areas.

All shops, barring the ones selling essential items, in the state have been closed since March 25, when the nationwide lockdown was imposed to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Serpentine queues were seen outside standalone liquor shops, with the either police or local administration on toes to ensure that boozers maintain social distancing.

Chaotic scenes were witnessed outside various alcohol shops as tipplers giving thumbs down to social distancing.

In some parts of the state, police had to either use force or close down liquor vends for an hour to control the huge crowd gathered outside the outlets since morning.

The reopening of liquor shops, however, boosted the state's dwindling coffer, with a record sale of liquor.

An astounding Rs 40-crore liquor sale was recorded on the first day of reopening of the standalone shops on Monday, said Sushmita Mukherjee, assistant secretary of the West Bengal Foreign Liquor-CS On and Off Shops and Hotel Owners Association.

"Seventy per cent of the state's liquor shops located in red, orange and green zones reopened yesterday," Mukherjee said.

The remaining 30 per cent shops are in containment zones. The sales of Tuesday are expected to be higher than Monday as the shops functioned for the entire seven-hour period from noon to 7 pm, she said.

The government's proposal to permit private buses to ply intra-district in green zones with not more than 20 passengers did not find resonance among the operators, who cited the offer as "economically unfeasible".

However, autos and rickshaws were seen running in various parts of the state.

Bus Minibus Coordination Committee general secretary Rahul Chatterjee had said it was not at all viable to run buses with only 20 passengers since the amount earned from ticket sale would not be enough for meeting fuel expenses.

A few shops reopened in green zones across the districts after the state government allowed the standalone shops in all the zones, barring the containment areas, to remain open from 10 am-6 pm.

"There is panic among traders as the number of COVID-19 cases is rising with each passing day," Confederation of West Bengal Trade Unions president Sushil Poddar said.

"In most parts of the city and the state, shopkeepers preferred not to open their shops, both due to anxiety and low level of business," Poddar said. "In green zones, a few shops have opened, but most of the traders are waiting for public transportation services to resume."

The traders' body, which has a membership base of 10 lakh across the state, has issued an advisory to its members about how to stay safe and sanitise their outlets.

Four districts, including Kolkata and Howrah, fall in the red zone in Bengal, while 11 have been classified in the orange and eight in the green zones.

A train carrying 1,186 passengers arrived at Dankuni station from Ajmer in Rajasthan on Monday morning.

Another train from Kerala, which left Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, is scheduled to reach Baharampur in Murshidabad district on Wednesday, sources added.

Meanwhile, instances of violence over relief and ration distribution were reported from various parts of the state, including North 24 Parganas and West Midnapore district.

The West Bengal Police on Tuesday said over 40,000 people had been arrested from different parts of the state for defying lockdown norms since its beginning on March 25. PTI BSM/AMR/DC/SCH/SUS PNT SNS

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