PORVORIM
The State government may have extended the statewide curfew for nearly a month till June 7, but visit that part of Porvorim which is part of Penha-da-Franca village and the curfew appears virtually non-existent.
Besides shops dealing in essential items, almost all shops have been open and doing business from 7 am to 1 pm.
Some concerned residents in the area have claimed that neither the police nor the panchayat have taken steps to direct owners to close their shops not dealing in essential goods.
They also alleged that no physical distance is being maintained by consumers while buying goods.
“What is use of such curfew where there are absolutely no restrictions on the business community and on the movement of people,” asked a senior citizen from Porvorim on condition of anonymity.
“It was the duty of police and the panchayat to ensure that guidelines issued by the State governments are strictly observed. If not, there is no point in extending the curfew.”
“We need to have Standard Operating Procedures followed strictly. Police should act tough and penalise shopkeepers who violate guidelines and those people who move freely without any valid reasons,” the resident added.
When contacted, Penha de Franca Sarpanch Swapnil Chodankar said the panchyat had not received any clear-cut guidelines in writing from the State government specifying which shops should be kept opened and which should be closed.
“The government has simply made an announcement that essential services will remain opened and now, every shopkeeper says that he is selling essential goods,” said Chodankar.
“When the Penha de Franca panchayat had declared the lockdown three weeks ago, panch members had ensured that only shops dealing in essential services like grocery, vegetables, milk products remained opened.”
“Since there are no clear-cut guidelines from the government how can the panchayat take action against shopkeepers? The government does not appear very serious about the curfew,” the sarpanch added.
