Social distancing rules continue to take a beating in Nagaland

Our Reporter/Correspondent
Dimapur/Kohima, May 4 (EMN): Nagaland government has ordered proprietors of shops and other establishments, which are allowed to open, to keep hand sanitisers or provide facilities for hand washing with soap and water for the citizens as well as their staff.

However, the public as well as shop outlets appear to be bending the rules of social distancing, and not taking precautionary measures.

The owner of a pharmacy in Dimapur, while speaking to Eastern Mirror, said that they have kept hand sanitisers for customers but most of them do not use it. They also do not maintain social distancing. 

An optical eyeglass shop owner said that some customers use hand sanitisers but most do not use it as they carry their own.

In one of the bakery shops, the owner has provided hand-washing facilities for the customers. He said that some people use it but most use hand sanitisers. He also added that it depended on ‘what items the customers bought and most of them were in a hurry’.

When queried about hand sanitisers in a household goods shop, the owner said that he was not ‘aware of the rule’, and added that he would keep it from the following day.

In one of the banks, people not wearing masks were not allowed to enter. However, those standing in the queue were not maintaining social distancing.

Every ATM booth in and around Dimapur were packed with people rushing to withdraw money so that they could reach home before the 2 pm deadline.

Some shop outlets at Chümoukedima town area were enforcing social distancing by attaching a rope at the entry point along with a notice board that read ‘only one person at a time.’ However, people rushing to buy groceries and other essential items overcrowded the market area.

Loudspeakers don’t work

Citizens in the state capital were seen breaking protocol of maintaining social distancing by crowding most of the shops, roadside vendors and while standing in queues to draw money at ATM booths on Monday.

Citizens did not adhere to the guidelines issued by the government despite the authority making announcements on loudspeakers throughout the streets.

Grocery shops, bakeries, vegetable vendors, pharmacies, shops selling essential commodities are permitted to open from 7 am to 2 pm only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Some citizens also crossed jurisdictions to get necessities, as some items were not available in their localities.

Some banks have kept hand sanitisers in their ATMs but at the same time, some were seen without them. Restaurants remained closed but a few of them are providing home delivery services.

The police personnel manning the streets are having a difficult time controlling vehicular movement. Many cars were seen plying without permits, even though there are restrictions on movement of unauthorised vehicles except for goods carriers and other cars with authorised permits.

Speaking to Eastern Mirror, a police officer said that many citizens were using their cars on the pretext of visiting hospitals or going to pharmacies, while turning a deaf ear to the repeated public announcements made by the government.

The police personnel were also seen questioning pedestrians not wearing face masks. They also instructed people not to throng the streets in groups.

Meanwhile, the police officer informed that they had to buy their own face masks since they were issued only once by the government.