The ongoing pandemic restrictions in Kozhikode city have not gone down well with a section of society, which has claimed that it will only lead to further spread of infection. Opposition parties have objected to placing the whole city under lockdown for six days a week.
Right now, the Kozhikode Corporation has been included in the ‘C’ category, with an average test positivity rate (TPR) for COVID-19 between 10% and 15%. Lockdown is in force within the city limits, and shops and other business establishments, except those selling essential stuff, are allowed to open only on Fridays. Till recently, however, shops were allowed to function on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
As is the situation elsewhere in the State, there is complete lockdown on Saturdays and Sundays. This apparently led to a rush last Friday, when people thronged the city from everywhere. Heavy traffic was seen at major junctions such as Stadium Junction and Bank Junction, Mavoor Road, Mananchira, Nadakkavu, and Karapparamba. S.M. Street, a major trade centre in the city, too saw a large number of customers.
Bumper-to-bumper traffic was the order of the day, as many people from other parts of the district came to the city for their needs. It was reported that some travellers took four-and-a-half hours to reach Kunnamangalam via national highway from Thamarassery. As city buses and other private buses are yet to resume services fully, many people had taken out their own vehicles too.
Traders’ bodies such as the Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samiti and the Malabar Chamber of Commerce have sought steps to open all shops on all days in line with the pandemic protocol. Meanwhile, UDF members in the corporation council said it was unscientific to enforce restrictions based only on TPR. Since there was already a weekend lockdown, shutting down shops on other days will prove disastrous for traders, they pointed out.
