Hyderabad: Old City denizens not following night curbs

Hyderabad: It seems the Old City denizens are immune to the Centre and State's lockdown guidelines in the wake of Covid pandemic. When the State government imposed night curfew between 9 pm and 5 am during lockdown, it had no effect on the residents who continued with their night life.

Even in Unlock1.0 when the State lifted restrictions and allowed shops to till 8 pm and movement of people till 9 pm, it has been observed that the locals here brazenly indulged in sitting on chhabutaras and loitering on roads.

In several areas in Old City including Shalibanda, Moghalpura, Talabkatta, Chandrayangutta, Bahadurpura, Yakutpura, Hussainialam and other areas like Nampally, Mallepally, Karwan, Mehdipatnam, Tolichowki etc. the citizens were seldom found strictly following lockdown guidelines. As people loitered on the streets in the nights, many shops clandestinely opened to sell wares like mouth freshener, tobacco products like paan, cigarettes, gutkhas, tea and coffee vending. Following the youth venture out during curfew, the children were not to be left behind. They were seen riding by-cycles and racing on empty roads in Moghalpura area. Many youngsters were seen making TikTok videos.

A video of a youth named Mohammed Zaid from Old City went viral on social media. Announcing that he and his 4 family members tested positive for virus, he berated the people that they were still not serious about the corona virus. He said, "The people in Old city are still unaware of the gravity of the situation and hence, they were roaming without facemasks."

He requested the people to stay indoors, wear face mask, and maintain safety norms.

Earlier, during the lockdown the police were patrolling the areas and had installed check-posts, but now there are no check-posts and patrolling by police, said Mohammed Abdul Rahman, Social Activist.

He said, "It is not a curfew in Old city areas, only the shops are closed, but the people are roaming freely. As the cases are increasing with more than 500 cases being reported daily, the citizens must strictly follow the night curfew guidelines and avoid roaming on road."