Kolkata: The city police has enforced strict lockdown norms in the broader containment zones from Thursday evening.
However, buses across the city plied normally but the number of people were few as they wanted to reach home before 5 pm. Before the lockdown period started, police through the public address system requested people to stay at their homes and come out in case of extreme emergency. They should put on masks while going out and sanitise their hands miked police.
Since the announcement of the containment zones, Kolkata Police has started putting up guard rails in order to block the entry and exit points to such areas since Thursday morning. However, people were allowed to move till 5 pm. A housing complex located on Sarat Bose was seen sealed by the police. Similarly a part of Linton Street in Beniapukur was also closed from the crossing of Sundari Mohan Avenue and police picket deployed there.
Since Thursday morning police personnel were seen informing people living inside the broader containment zones through the public address system about the do's and don'ts during the lockdown. People have also been asked to call the police control room or the local police station to get their daily needs to be delivered at the doorstep. Police personnel in Bidhannagar and Barrackpore City Police were also seen making people aware about the lockdown in broader containment zones since Thursday morning. In Salt Lake, Rahara, Baranagar, Nagerbazar and few other places police went to specific houses asking the residents not to come out of their homes. Also shop owners were asked to shut down the establishments by 2 pm in the afternoon.
This apart, on Thursday around 1,800 state run buses in 135 routes and around 2,000 private buses plied across the city and suburbs. In Howrah few roads were closed for vehicular traffic and necessary diversions were arranged. In one such place on MG Road in Howrah, buses were short terminated and passengers had to get down and walk to their destinations availing another road.