With more than 25,000 cases reported in West Bengal, the Govt of Bengal has now implemented Lockdown for seven days in Containment zones across West Bengal. This includes a list of 25 areas in the city itself, where things have come to a standstill since 9th July, evening at 5 pm. These areas are a mix of urban complexes, housing, and slums. Moreover, our neighbor, Salt Lake has six containment zones and urban Howrah has 17 zones. The new list now includes Kolkata, Howrah, Malda, and North 24 Parganas but not South 24 Parganas.

The state govt. says that the lockdown will be increased if required. Although fine for people without masks has not been approved by Ms. Banerjee, she urges police to send people back to their homes if they don’t wear a mask in public places.

On the other hand, the rumors of complete lockdown have resulted in panic buying across the city. People were seen in long queues to buy essentials and medicines. Although market communities tried to calm down buyers, it seemed they didn’t want to take any chances. The state govt. has promised to make arrangements for home delivery of essential commodities during the lockdown in the containment zones.

The lockdown resulted in the disappearance of local transport like rickshaws, and auto-rickshaws from the containment zones with the police barricading these areas. The number of the city’s private buses and adjoining districts have also gone down from Friday as a large number of bus staff stay in the containment zones of North and South 24 Parganas districts.