With one day left for Janata curfew to begin on Sunday, an unusually high crowd was witnessed ‘panic buying’ at supermarkets in Hyderabad.
Customers could be seen flocking to various sections without maintaining enough distance from each other and the possibility of social distancing came to nought with no separate markings made to maintain distance in the supermarkets.
Speaking to TNM, consumers said they were stocking up in advance as there won't be any shops open on Sunday.
“Anyway, we cannot come outside tomorrow at all. So thought I can get out today and buy something that I need and put it in my home. I am not coming outside these days until and unless there’s an emergency but as tomorrow it's an entire day’s closure, I thought I should come out today and buy whatever is needed,” said one of the consumers shopping at a supermarket in Secunderabad.
PM Narendra Modi, in his address to the nation on Thursday evening, announced the Janata curfew where he appealed to citizens not to step out of their homes between 7am and 9pm on Sunday, March 22, except for essential needs.
Queue in a kirana store in Yousufguda.. @HiHyderabad @CoreenaSuares2 @DonitaJose pic.twitter.com/7NgvQIHMAF
— Mallik Yandamuri (@Mallik_Y1988) March 20, 2020
However, despite the heavy crowds, some of the supermarkets haven’t taken the necessary hygiene measures.
In some of the stores like Heritage Fresh and Polimeraas in Secunderabad, not even a hand sanitiser was placed at the entrance though several customers and staff were seen wearing masks. Further, customers were not even being asked to sanitise their hands before entering.
When contacted on phone, one of the store managers of Heritage Fresh said that they have been continuously cleaning the baskets as well as inside the store and they have opened all the counters so that the crowd can move faster.
While Reliance Fresh has placed a hand wash at the entrance, not many were seen using it, however, many could be seen wearing masks.
Meanwhile, another store D-Mart has placed temperature screening equipment for all the consumers and was giving sanitisers for everybody personally. They have also limited the number of customers to 300 per hour through token system.
However, it was noticed that none of these stores had any markings to maintain the World Health Organisation (WHO) prescribed distance of 1 metre between people.
Most of the crowds were seen in the grocery, soaps and cosmetics section while other sections like clothing, utensils etc. were comparatively less crowded.
There were also truckloads of products being unloaded at these supermarkets to cater to the increased demand.
Some stores said that large crowds have been there since the last 10 days. "When it comes to Big Bazaar, we are taking all the necessary precautions, providing sanitiser for cleaning the floor frequently and giving masks to staff. We are also ensuring home delivery to the customers to avoid crowds,” a Big Bazaar spokesperson told TNM.