Villages, towns in Central Gujarat opt for voluntary lockdown amid rising COVID-19 cases

Several villages and towns in Central Gujarat have opted for voluntary lockdown in light of the surging COVID-19 cases in the state. Shops and businesses will remain shut in Lunawada town for 15 days. Lunawada is the district headquarters of Mahisagar district which has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases. In response to the rise in cases, various trade associations decided on Saturday to shut down businesses and shops in the area; even street vendors and vegetable sellers will not be opening their shops in these areas.

The administration has declared these areas as containment zones, according to The Times of India.  

Similarly, in Santrampur town of Mahisagar district, it was decided that shops and businesses will remain shut on Sunday. In Divda Colony village of Kadana taluka, villagers have decided to keep the local businesses shut till Sunday. A similar type of lockdown was also imposed in Malvan village.

Meanwhile, the district administration of Dahod has deceived to halt all commercial activity in the town every Sunday and will also facilitate sanitation. While in the Charotar region, Demol, Rupaiyapura, Sarsa, Virsad villages of Anand district have opted for voluntary lockdown. This initiative was also followed by other villages in the region like Malataj, Pansora and Changa, according to the daily.

Sarpanch of Malataj village Himanya Durgesh Patel said, "We had around 14 active Covid-19 cases and 15-odd suspected cases after which we decided to implement voluntary lockdown from April 1. It will continue till April 15". In Malataj, the markets will remain open only from 6:00 am to 12:00 pm. People purchase essential commodities by noon. After we initiated the lockdown, situation is under control," explained the woman sarpanch, according to the daily.

This is not the first time villages in Gujarat have gone into voluntary lockdown. Just last month, Khanpur, a village 7 km away from Vadodara, had also opted for voluntary lockdown after 51 people had tested positive for the coronavirus in a fortnight. The demise of a senior resident had trigged the voluntary lockdown.

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