Long queues were witnessed outside grocery and retail stores across Pune city throughout Sunday as people scrambled to stock essentials ahead of the 10-day lockdown commencing at the midnight of July 13.
Hundreds thronged the Market Yard in Gultekdi, which comprises Pune’s largest wholesale vegetable, grocery and fruit market.
Given the scale of the crowds, officials at the agricultural produce market committee and the police found it difficult to control buyers, most of whom had thrown physical distancing to the winds. As per the announcement on Friday, only the supply of milk is permitted in the first five days of the strict lockdown period, with all vegetable and grocery stores remaining shut.
Meanwhile, Pune district reported 1,711 new COVID-19 cases till Sunday evening, as its total cases surged to 39,125, of whom 14,484 cases are active. Of the total case tally, 23,591 people have been discharged, Pune Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar said.
As many as 558 of the active cases in the district are in a critical condition.
According to district officials, the death toll climbed to 1,050, while State Health Department figures put the total fatalities at 1,097.
The death toll in Solapur district has climbed to 328, with only one fatality reported on Sunday. The death toll in Pune division, which consists of Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Solapur districts, has now reached 1,483, as per Pune divisional office figures. Mr. Mhaisekar said Pune division’s total case tally has reached 45,897, of whom 16,483 are active cases, while 27,931 people have been discharged till date.
Solapur reported 109 new cases to take its total case tally to 3,930, of whom 1,409 are active. Satara, which has reported 65 deaths thus far, reported a record high surge of 153 new cases as its total cases shot to 1,696, of whom 621 are active cases.
Sangli recorded 16 new cases to push its tally to 624, of whom 306 are active ones, while with 35 new cases, Kolhapur’s total cases stand at 1,174, of whom 315 are active. While Sangli’s death toll stands at 16, Kolhapur’s count has climbed to 24.
