A police officer clicks the photograph of a man caught for travelling without proper papers at Begumpet in Hyderabad. Photo: Surya Sridhar
Hyderabad: On the third day of the lockdown, the police were seen strictly enforcing the restrictions at various places in the city. Along one of the busiest routes in the city, from LB Nagar to Miyapur, checkpoints were seen at several key areas like LB Nagar, Kothapet, Dilsukhnagar, Malakpet, Nampally, Khairatabad, Ameerpet, SR Nagar, Kukatpally-Balanagar Y Junction, JNTU signal and Miyapur.
Immediately after 10 am, police personnel were spotted at these checkpoints, strictly enforcing the lockdown. At some areas, senior police officials were also seen at the checkpoints, working to enforce the lockdown along with the junior staff. While a few checkpoints caused traffic jams in the early hours of the curfew, the roads were deserted as the day progressed, with just a handful of vehicles being seen on the city roads. Most of those vehicles were food/grocery delivery executives that are exempt from the lockdown.
However, according to P Srikar, a trainer at a grocery delivery firm, this lockdown is slightly relaxed compared to the one last year. “This year it is slightly relaxed, at least for delivery executives, as the police are letting our employees pass through the checkpoints noticing their uniform. Last year, we were stopped at every checkpoint,” he said.
Apart from delivery executives, volunteers of NGOs, performing various Covid relief activities, were also seen on the roads. Bhargav Ventrapragada of Helping Spot Organisation says the police have been cooperative with them about their work. “We have been advised by the police to issue ID cards and T-Shirts to our volunteers and this ensures their smooth passage,” he said. Towards late afternoon, the vehicular traffic reduced further, leaving the city roads deserted for most part.
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