TS Lockdown: Four hours mean a lot in Hyderabad

With the lockdown coming into effect from 10 am, people were seen making the best use of the four-hour relaxation

Hyderabad: What used to happen over 24 hours, or most of it, began to happen in four hours in Hyderabad from Wednesday. With the lockdown coming into effect from 10 am, people were seen making the best use of the four-hour relaxation starting 6 am, lining up at vegetable markets, supermarkets and departmental stores. At several supermarkets, people were seen waiting in long lines to purchase essentials while maintaining physical distancing and wearing face masks.

On the other hand, vegetable markets like the ones in Saidabad, Falaknuma and Secunderabad witnessed big crowds triggering traffic jams in the lanes leading to the market. “As there is a relaxation from 6 am, I thought to buy vegetables in the initial hour. However, to my surprise, the market got crowded quickly. I could not go inside and bought vegetables sold near the gate,” said Nagender, a customer at the Saidabad market.

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The announcement of the lockdown took fruit traders by surprise since they had brought several truckloads of fruits into the city. Their efforts were to sell off as much as possible in the four hour window. “Given the festival and summer season, a truckload of watermelons and muskmelons arrived on Tuesday. The lockdown announcement came as a surprise for us. The stock cannot be stored for a long time. So, we decided to sell the stock directly to the people,” said Srikanth, one of the truck owners.

While most restaurants remained closed, a few hotels, roadside and mobile tiffin centres did brisk business. Wine shops, which witnessed a mad rush on Tuesday soon after the announcement of the lockdown on Tuesday, saw many queuing up right from morning. The lockdown also cast its shadow on people visiting colony parks for morning walks, jogging and yoga.

“Earlier, around 500 people used to visit the park daily. The number was less than 150 today,” a security guard at the Dr GS Melkote Park in Narayanguda said.

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