Authorities across the world are devising quirky ways tomake sure people don¡¯t cross the lockdown 'Lakshman rekha.' But despite repeatedwarnings, people have been risking their lives and stepping out. In India, cops have been singing songs and parading people dressed as Yamraj to warn those violating the rules.?
But Sweden has taken things a notch higher.?Officials in Sweden have a rather ¡®stinky¡¯ way ofdealing with stubborn lockdown violators. They are hoping that the putrid smellof chicken manure will help keep people locked inside their homes.
The university town of Lund is set to dump a ton of chickenmanure in a park to deter residents from gathering there for a religious celebrationon Thursday night.
Local officials said the initiative would help prevent Lundfrom turning into a coronavirus epicenter on Walpurgis Night.?
Walpugis Night a holiday markedacross central and northern Europe with parties and bonfires,The Guardian reports.
¡°We get the opportunity to fertilise the lawns, and at thesame time it will stink and so it may not be so nice to sit and drink beer inthe park,¡± Gustav Lundblad, the local council¡¯s environment committee, told theSydsvenskan newspaper.
¡°I am not a fertiliser expert, but as I understand it, it isclear that it might smell a bit outside the park as well,¡± Lundblad admitted.¡°These are chicken droppings, after all. I cannot guarantee that the rest ofthe city will be odourless. But the point is to keep people out of the citypark.¡±
Many of the town¡¯s 125,000-odd inhabitants usually gather inthe park in the afternoon and evening for picnics before the Walpurgis partygets underway. The city says up 30,000 people from different parts of Sweden --mostly students from Lund University -- have in previous years gathered to theStadspark to celebrate Valborg, a spontaneous fest that marks the arrival ofspring for Swedes.
Sweden has kept a relatively relaxed approach to publicrestrictions amid the coronavirus outbreak. But the government is stronglyurging citizens to practice proper social distancing.
Sweden, a nation of 10 million, has confirmed 19,621coronavirus cases and 2,355 deaths.