Bhubaneswar: With night curfew being imposed in the Odisha capital from April 17, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary on Friday urged the city denizens not to resort to panic buying and stockpiling of essential items.
He said there will no scarcity of resources and essential commodities in the markets.
“I request you all not to hoard and go for panic buying. I assure you that there will be no shortage of essential items such as milk, edibles and medicines in the city. Therefore, avoid crowding market places,” he said in a video message.
The BMC Commissioner made the appeal after people thronged various markets in the city last night soon after the Odisha government announced night curfew in all urban centres and 10 districts bordering Chhattisgarh due to a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Seeking the cooperation of the public to contain the spread of the virus, he further said people should go for online shopping and prefer home delivery of items instead of going to markets. “We will ensure that there is no dearth of supply of essential items. And, please do not believe any rumours and hoax messages on social media and personal messaging platforms regarding complete shutdown or market closure,” he said.
He also requested the city denizens to strictly follow COVID-appropriate behaviour such as wearing of face mask, maintaining hand hygiene and social distancing to break the chain of infection.
Notably, the night curfew will be imposed in Bhubaneswar between 9 pm and 5 am.
Watch the video here: