Th imposition of a
second lockdown in Telangana, which came into force today and will continue for ten days, has hit the state's labourers and small traders hard.
Since all shops and business establishments will remain shut from 10:00 am 6:00 am, opening for a four-hour period between 6:00 am and 10:00 am each day, many small business establishment owners have been left worried by the impact of the measure on their livelihoods.
Emergency service providers and media offices have been exempted from following the curfew orders. Government offices too will function with 33% staff.
Large numbers of police personnel deployed across the state's main roads have been ensuring the strict enforcement of the lockdown orders.
The sudden lockdown, however, has forced the people to rush to the grocery stores and other shops to buy essentials. Many rural migrants are currently in a fix as they have not been able to return home, and are now stuck without work in Telangana's urban centres.
As a result, workers have been criticising the state government's decision to impose "the sudden lockdown" as this has left them deprived of food, income and, in many cases, even shelter. They have deplored that the sudden lockdown, implemented without the provision of any relief or essentials, will only add to their problems.
"Where do we live if the lockdown does not allow us to return to our villages? There is no work either," they wonder.
Roadside vendors and fruit sellers have also been demanding that the timings of the daily relaxation period be extended. Those hawking perishable items point out that the highly perishable nature of their wares means that if they remain unsold, they often rot and go to waste, causing the sellers to suffer losses.
The decision to impose a lockdown was taken by the state Cabinet yesterday. Explaining the call to do so, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said that though he would much rather not enforce a second lockdown as this would have negative economic spillovers, it was urgent to do so to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the state.
The government, in its lockdown 2.0 guidelines, clarified that agriculture and allied sectors, fertilisers, medical shops, hospitals, vaccination centres, petrol pumps, and emergency services vehicles would be among those exempted from following the lockdown timings, while barring cinema halls, function halls, pubs and parks from opening.