Bhubaneswar: A day after sealing several prominent shops, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials on Friday sealed the city's major commercial complex - The Market Building at Unit-2, in a crackdown against COVID-19 norm violation.
As per official sources, the decision to seal the market building was taken following a huge turnout of shoppers ahead of the Raja festival. It was observed that all the prescribed norms of social distancing were flouted by shop owners and shoppers amid the festivity rush ahead of Raja.
It is pertinent to mention here that earlier Odisha government had announced relaxation in the night curfew today to facilitate people shop for the upcoming Raja festival. However, people in large numbers thronged the Market Building complex making it harder to maintain social distancing. Sources said that rush of people reached its peak in the afternoon after slight improvement in weather conditions.
Official sources said that with the turnout of so many people, it was observed that all the social distancing norms were either thrown to the wind or it was not practically impossible to ensure strict enforcement.
Besides, a lot of people were seen doing last minute shopping for Raja festival without wearing masks.
Earlier yesterday, BMC officials had sealed a number of shops in Bhubaneswar for violation of COVID-19 protocol. BMC Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary had also urged people to do shopping for Raja festival in a staggered manner and not crowd shops. The shop owners were also urged to ensure that there is no unnecessary crowding inside the premises.
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