People resort to panic buying

Dakshina Kannada district administration’s decision on Thursday to impose weekend lockdown beginning 10 a.m. on Friday till Monday morning and shrink the window for purchasing essentials from six hours to three hours on weekdays triggered panic buying across the district, including Mangaluru, Puttur and other towns.

The district administration led by in-charge Minister Kota Srinivas Poojari on Thursday held an emergency meeting and decided to impose rigorous curbs as the number of COVID-19 positive cases did not reduce even after eight days of the curfew.

People lined up in front of departmental stores, shops selling grocery, vegetables, fruits, fish and meat, milk parlours and fuel stations to stock up for three days. A notification issued by Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra on Thursday said no activity, except healthcare and pharmacy, would be allowed to function during the weekend lockdown in order to curb unnecessary movement of people.

Criticising the district administration’s sudden move, social activist Gerad Towers said curtailing people’s activities spread over six hours, from 6 a.m. to noon, to three hours, from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., has resulted in chaos. Increased crowding would enhance the spread of the pandemic instead of curbing it. If COVID-19 positive cases increase in the city, the administration should solely be held responsible, he said.

While the State government was mulling imposing complete lockdown for a fortnight from Monday, Dakshina Kannada administration’s decision adding more conditions to the State Disaster Management Authority’s order has caused confusion. Attempts to get clarification from Chief Secretary P. Ravi Kumar as to whether district disaster management committees could alter the State authority’s directive were not successful.