Grocery and vegetable shops to remain shut in Gandhinagar

“We have earmarked certain number of vegetable vendors for each Sector in Gandhinagar. They will keep moving in their respective sectors and people can buy vegetables from them. The grocery shops have also been asked to remain shut Tuesday. They will only do home delivery. We have put a list of grocery shops along with their contact numbers in each sector on our website. So, people can get the grocery items delivered to their homes,” Patel added.

According to Patel, the decision has been taken after realising that people are crowding these points in the city putting everybody’s life at risk.

In Ahmedabad, to control people from crowding stores to buy daily essentials, the Municipal Corporation (AMC) last week shifted the wholesale vegetable market from under Jamalpur bridge to the Sabarmati Riverfront area that has bigger open space. It has also suspended sales at major retail stores in the city. Sales at 36 stores of major retail chains have also been suspended in city till further orders, allowing only home delivery. The AMC has announced that this decision would be reviewed after the home delivery service is improved and requested people not to visit the stores.

Kheda Collector I K Patel issued a notification laying down timing after which people would be prohibited from stepping out of their homes. The notification on Monday also prohibits residents from gathering on the premises of their residential colonies. The notification states, “Anyone stepping out after 2 pm should be only to fetch milk from the nearest milk parlours. After 3pm, people needing only emergency medical consultation will be allowed to step out, including those with special passes issued by the administration. However, the notification does not apply to medical professionals, hospitals and hospital staff.”

The Kheda district administration, last week, prohibited use of two-wheelers in vegetable markets, asking people to walk to the markets to buy fresh produce in order to deter unnecessary movement.