BENGALURU: The ‘Corona Curfew’ from Tuesday 9 pm till 6 am of May 12, announced on Monday by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, caused panic across the state with people rushing to buy provisions and stock up their homes.
And thousands whose homes were elsewhere started making preparations for trains or buses to take them homewards while making good the time before the curfew is to be enforced. Misunderstanding this to be a lockdown like the one announced by Yediyurappa on March 23 last year, people were seen rushing to shops to buy as much of the essentials to keep them going for some days at least.
Wine stores made brisk business and many displayed empty racks as demand picked up in the hours after the CM’s announcement. Ironically, in several places such a rush itself was in violation of safety norms for managing the pandemic, for which the curfew was announced. Those who knew that this curfew will not be like the 2020 lockdown, however, reason that only four hours allowed for shops to remain open between 6 am and 10 am will itself cause much rush for people to buy in that restricted time.
Bengaluru witnessed rushes, mainly in residential areas, to beat this four-hour conundrum. In Mysuru, the “lockdown fear” forced people to make a beeline to departmental stores to buy daily needs. The streets were loaded with vehicles and the number of passengers leaving for various destinations rose. Apart from Bengaluru and Mysuru, panic buying and movements to leave for home was reported from parts of Belagavi, Shivamogga, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Kalaburagi, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Kolar and Chikkaballapur.