Visakhapatnam: 14-hour lockdown total in City of Destiny

Visakhapatnam: If there was anything audible on the streets of Visakhapatnam, it was deafening silence as people voluntarily stayed indoors, participating in the 14-hour-long Janata Curfew that began at 7 am here on Sunday.

While markets, restaurants, educational institutions and commercial establishments remained shut as part of the social distancing exercise to contain the spread of novel coronavirus, neigbourhoods and the otherwise busy junctions across the City of Destiny looked unusually desolate with traffic coming to a screeching halt.

Barring a few essential services and pushcart eateries that remained open for a couple of hours, the rest of the facilities remained closed for the entire day.

Extending their support to Janata Curfew call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, people across various sections responded well to the self-imposed quarantine, conveying the message loud and clear that their health matters the most. Roads that led to several neighbourhoods such as MVP Colony, Maddilapalem, Asilmetta, RTC Bus Complex, Dwarakanagar, Dabagardens, Gopalapatnam and NAD junction wore deserted look as people from various sections decided to stay away from their workplaces to counter the Covid-19 threat.

The otherwise bustling RK Beach wore a deserted look on Sunday morning as walkers and the health conscious people preferred to stay off the beach road. With several organisations instructing their employees to work from home till the month-end, professionals found it little challenging to work in a home-environment amid distractions.

Buses, cars and auto-rickshaws stayed off the roads. Rythu Bazaars, grocery shops and medical stores that witnessed serpentine queues till Saturday night have downed their shutters as mark of their participation in the Curfew.

Indian Railways have cancelled about 2,400 passenger trains, 1300 express trains to implement the curfew and help curb the spread of highly-contagious pandemic. Trains originating from Visakhapatnam on Sunday have come to a halt.

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Except cops in some of the junctions and a very few commuters, there's literally no movement of people on the roads in several areas across the city.

Meanwhile, at 5 pm, responding to the Prime Minister's appeal, residents of various colonies were seen coming out of their homes to the balconies and the terrace, clapped their hands, rang bells, played drums and beat metal utensils for five minutes to express their gratitude towards the medical fraternity.