Uttar Pradesh recorded 37 new deaths and 2,151 fresh COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, the government said on Tuesday, with the capital Lucknow and industrial hub Kanpur retaining their position as the worrying areas in the State.
While Lucknow recorded 212 fresh cases, Kanpur reported 230.
To mitigate this, the administration in these two districts has decided to create “large containment zones” where complete lockdown would be implemented till Friday night. U.P. is already observing a weekend lockdown throughout the State.
In Kanpur, the administration has declared complete lockdown in areas falling under the jurisdiction of 10 police stations while in Lucknow similar arrangements have been made in four police station areas.
All haat s, bazaars, mandi s and business establishments would be shut in both districts but industrial activity, including IT (Information Technology) services and ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services), would go on under laid out protocol, as per official orders. However, while in Kanpur even religious places would remain shut, in Lucknow, said District Magistrate Abhishek Prakash, they would be allowed to function on conditions of maintaining social distancing and safety protocols.
‘Essentials available’
Urmila Pandey (67), a retired associate professor of mathematics, living in a containment zone in Indira Nagar, Lucknow says the new order changes nothing as she had already been staying home for the past few months. While she hopes to step out again, Ms. Pandey says she is quite satisfied with the supply chain of essentials in her locality. “Our milk supply comes in on time each day and the local grocery and vegetable stores are also open,” she said.
Ms. Pandey is, however, concerned that not everyone is following social distancing despite the locality falling under a containment zone. “This is more of a perception and behaviour problem rather than one of policing,” she observed.
Anitya Tripathi, an engineer who lives in a containment zone in Chakeri, Kanpur, echoes her concerns about the lack of social distancing and insufficient patrolling. Mr. Tripathi leaves for office, 14 km away, each day at 9 a.m. and returns only after 6 p.m., by when he says most of the shops in his area are shut. While he is able to easily procure essentials like milk and vegetables, Mr. Tripathi is concerned that there is a lack of strictness in implementing the lockdown. Three weeks ago, two persons in his neighbourhood got infected but the administration barricaded the locality only from one side, leaving the other side open for people to move about, he said.
Norms not followed
“It [the containment zone] is not making any difference. People are still moving about. And how many roads will the police patrol? People have their short cuts and lanes to avoid police patrols,” said Mr. Tripathi, who suggests that only a complete nationwide lockdown would curb the rise in cases now.
Tanu Shukla, a B.Sc. student living in Kanpur’s Nawabganj, rues that her family now has to go long distances to buy domestic items. She is also worried that not everyone in her area is wearing a mask or maintaining distance in public. “People are still sitting in groups,” she said.
The total number of deaths in U.P. reached 1,229 while active cases stood at 20,204, the government said. With 2,851 active cases, Lucknow is the most affected district, followed by Kanpur (1,301). When it comes to deaths, however, Kanpur leads in the State with 138 deaths, followed by Meerut (98), Agra (96), Ghaziabad (64) and Lucknow (57 deaths).
