People Stock up food; police personnel enforce lockdown

A Correspondent

Dibrugarh: A sense of panic, fear, and anxiety rented the air here on Tuesday as the people geared themselves up for the State-wide lockdown. Ever since the official announcement was made on the evening of Monday, there had been an abnormal rush on the part of the people to stock up enough food and other essentials. This continued, and took an even more alacritous form on Tuesday as vegetable markets, kirana stores and other markets were seen flooded with people. With WHO recommending the use of sanitizers, soaps and masks, the demand for all three items rose dramatically. Some sellers were reported to have engaged in profiteering. For instance, the price of a kg of onion rose at least by Rs 5, and that of a kg of cucumber, cauliflower and cabbage shot up by a whopping Rs 30, Rs 20, and Rs 10 respectively.

The financially hard-pressed people had a harrowing experience trying to get the bare essentials in place. The police administration had to deploy police personnel on the streets of the town to enforce the lockdown in the evening as many people were spotted in huddles and small gatherings and many markets carried on their usual business. Wielding batons, many male and female police personnel took errands across the town.

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