People resort to panic buying, UP government appeals for calm, assures essentials items
People in Uttar Pradesh started panic buying essential items when they heard the 'rumours' of complete curfew in 15 districts in the state till April 30.
People in Uttar Pradesh started panic buying essential items when they heard the 'rumours' of complete curfew in 15 districts in the state till April 30.
The rumours arose when the Yogi Adityanath government on Wednesday (April 8, 2020) announced to completely seal the coronavirus COVID-19 hotspots in 15 districts of the state till the end of this month. The 15 districts include -- Agra, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budha Nagar, Kanpur, Varanasi, Shamli, Meerut, Bareilly, Bulandshahr, Basti, Firozabad, Saharanpur, Maharajganj, and Sitapur.
The DMs of Gautam Buddha Nagar and Ghaziabad have already advised people to avoid panic buying as only the identified hot spots shall be sealed and home delivery of essential commodities and services shall be available at all places in the district.
Over 130 crore Indians have been under complete lockdown since March 24, 2020. The number of coronavirus confirmed cases in India has climbed to 5,274 and around 149 people have succumbed to the fatal virus.
Man in Lucknow takes home essential items
A man is seen stocking up vegetables as the 'fake news' of Uttar Pradesh's 15 districts being completely sealed was circulated among the residents. The actual news was that only the 'COVID-19 hot spots' will be sealed in those 15 districts, not the whole district. This was later confirmed by the DMs and Police officials of those districts who clarified that there won't be any 'overall curfew' in the district and the essential items will be 'delivered to the homes' of those being 'sealed in the hot spots.'