People's Curfew: A Trailer

From Maximum City to Millennium City, the impact of the deadly coronavirus on life and business has been uniform. Although there’s no complete shutdown order yet, the country is already in a state of a virtual lockdown

MUMBAI

Trade goes into lockdown

RAJESH BHAYANI Mumbai, 20 March

Even before Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the country to observe a janata curfew this Sunday, Mumbai had already started taking the threat of coronavirus seriously as traffic and passengers on public transport dwindled over the week. Most offices, especially in the organised sector, are asking employees to work from home.

Malls are shut except for essential items, street food vendors have gone, and the famous khau gallis in market areas are empty. Even parks and beaches are desolate.

Friday’s decision by the Maharashtra government to close all workplaces till March 31, except shops selling essential commodities and financial markets, will mean that there will be even less activity in Maximum City.

C-ward, spread across five sq km in south Mumbai, is the hub for several retail and wholesale markets such as Zaveri Bazaar for jewellery, Lohar Chawl for electrical goods, and Mulji Jetha market for textiles. The area is usually very crowded and sees footfalls in hundreds of thousands including traders, customers, and employees. Even on Thursday, in many of these markets that were open, customers were missing. On Friday, most shops were shut and the narrow streets empty.