The epicentre of national capital – Connaught Place – to remain shut on Sunday, in view of the ‘Janata Curfew, a preventive measure against the deadly coronavirus proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A day after PM Modi took the decision for Sunday to prevent public gatherings, New Delhi Traders Association took this decision.
Connaught Place attracts massive crowds in the city due to its famous eateries and other commodities’ shops. Sunday, being a holiday attracts more crowd than usual days, and the decision will act to prevent the practice.
Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) confirmed that all shops and retail outlets in Connaught Place will remain shut on Sunday in view of the coronavirus.
“Generally wholesale markets in Delhi are closed on Sundays but all retail markets of Delhi open on Sundays but on March 22, all retail markets will also be completely closed,” he said.
Apart from Connaught Place, other prominent places with retail and wholesale markets including Karol Bagh, Kamla Nagar, Model Town, Azadpur, South Extension, Greater Kailash, Rohini, Shalimar Bagh, Janakpuri, Patel Nagar, Kalkaji, Green Park, Khan Market, Vikas Marg, Preet Vihar, Laxmi Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Shahdara, Loni Road, Narela, and Bawana will be shut on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has also announced the closure of metro services on Sunday due to deadly coronavirus. It said the move is aimed at encouraging the public to stay indoors and maintain social distancing, which is essential in the fight against COVID-19.
In the wake of ‘Janta Curfew’ to be observed this Sunday i.e, on 22nd March 2020, DMRC has decided to keep its services closed. The move is aimed at encouraging public to stay indoors and maintain social distancing, which is essential in the fight against Covid-19. #JantaCurfew
— Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (@OfficialDMRC) March 20, 2020
The Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has earlier announced to shut down all malls in Delhi, except grocery, pharmacy and vegetables shops in them.
Later, his deputy, Manish Sisodia also told about the closure of three Delhi Haats running in INA, Pitampura and Janakpuri.
We are closing all 3 Delhi Haats also which are run by Delhi government in INA, Pitam pura and Janakpuri.
HoHo bus services of tourism department are also closed. https://t.co/5K4re2tCyM— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) March 20, 2020
As of now, there are 223 positive cases of COVID-19 reported in India.