A Complete Lockdown With Only Milk Shops And Chemists Open, The Grim Situation In Ahmedabad

With over 6,000 cases of COVID-19 so far, Ahmedabad is the second-worst affected city in India due to the pandemic. Of the 347 cases reported in Gujarat on Monday, 268 came from Ahmedabad alone. Ahmedabad district has recorded a total of 400 deaths so far.

The city continues to account for more than 75% of daily deaths occurring in the state. The majority of the cases have been recorded from Ahmedabad city, which is identified as one of the national hotspots of the viral infection. After Mumbai, Ahmedabad district has recorded the maximum cases of COVID-19 in India.

BCCL

The rise in new cases has forced the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) to announce one of the most stringent lockdown enforced in the country so far. Ahmedabad has been under lockdown since May 7 and will be in place till May 15, as of now.

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Only milk shops and chemists have been allowed to function, which has caused much trouble for the residents who are struggling to get everything from groceries and vegetables.

All branches of all banks except ATMs also remain closed in the red zones till further notice. On Monday the AMC also banned cash-on-delivery options for grocery and food items from May 15 on the fear that the virus could spread through currency notes.

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According to AMC, the payment for such services will now have to be made only digitally. The civic body has also has asked the nearly 17,000 retail shops in the city to use digital payments even after the complete lockdown is lifted. ¡°Nearly 40,000 home deliveries are made every day in Ahmedabad city by over a dozen agencies such as BigBasket, BigBazaar, Reliance, Flourish, D-Mart, Swiggy and Zomato. The important new directive is for them. Cash on delivery has been banned as coronavirus can spread through currency notes. For home delivery, cashless payment is mandatory,¡± said Additional Chief Secretary forest and environment Rajiv Kumar Gupta said.

Important Decisions taken during today's meeting. Watch the video message by Dr. Rajiv Kumar Gupta, IAS - Additional Chief Secretary@PMOIndia @CMOGuj @drrajivguptaias @Mukeshias @ibijalpatel#AmdavadFightsCorona #AmdavadAMC pic.twitter.com/43e3PJ0n58

¡ª Amdavad Municipal Corporation (@AmdavadAMC) May 11, 2020

¡°For over 17,000 vendors, Digital Mode of Payment (UPI) is advisable. However, cash payment can be made maintaining social distancing,¡± AMC said in a tweet.

As part of the lockdown protocol, the AMC has also made it mandatory for delivery staff to download the Aarogya Setu app on their mobile phones.

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As the ban on sale of fruits and vegetables would still be on for next four days, several Amdavadis have reached out to NGOs and police for their required diet - especially those with medical conditions.

Madhish Parikh, founder of a city-based NGO Elixir Foundation, told The Times of India that they have delivered fruits and vegetables to at least 22-23 households in the past week. "Several of them had medical conditions and they could not stock up. In a couple of cases, the household had just come to the city and could not find the vegetables to cook," he said.