The Chandigarh Administration's decision to allow people to visit nearby shops from 10 am to 6 pm to buy essentials has not gone down well with some residents. A campaign called 'No to Chandigarh admin relaxation' has also been started among others on social media. Responding on Twitter to one such resident who was against the move, Chandigarh Advisor Manoj Parida wrote, "Manoj Parida doesn't decide these things. Governor who is Administrator decides. By the way Prime Minister has ordered to keep essential shops open all over the country." "Even the medical fraternity from PGI says the decision to let everybody violate the 'Laxman Rekha' is highly dangerous. My friends from all sectors tell me that people are being careless. This ideally imagined single individual observing social distancing is a myth exploding in CHB sectors in the face of authority. The safest thing would have been that the decision to let people walk to the markets be immediately withdrawn," said Nirmal Datt, a member of the Chandigarh Housing Board Residents Welfare Federation. Read| Chandigarh: Shorter relaxation period would have led to panic, says Badnor He added, "What I suggested earlier also is a simpler and safer solution. All shopkeepers can sit behind closed shutters every day, getting orders on phone from their habitual customers and packaging supplies from inside their shut shops. Then a group of volunteers.from every sector can keep supplying those packets to the homes in their sectors using police vehicles. Every sector can be managed this way with a small group of policemen." Others said there were loopholes in the system of CTU bus carrying vegetables too. "The method adopted by the Chandigarh Administration of distributing through a bus will expose a large number of people as the bus has a driver, a conductor, four people for weighing, a bus in-charge and a police representative. The bus is parked in one place, not going into the lanes, resulting in crowding which is to be avoided at all costs. People, especially the elderly and the sick, are not being able to use the facility. Since the bus is parked in one place, the residents do not even come to know of its arrival. It is strongly suggested that permits be given to vendors and let them distribute door to door as is done for distribution of milk," said Major (retd) R S Gujral, president, Chandigarh Defence Colony Welfare Association, Sector 35, Saturday.
