Some people of containment zones allegedly flout stay-at-home orders and sneak out to visit liquor shops in exempted zones where residents protest the presence of the “outsiders” in the fear that they will spread the novel coronavirus.
With the residents of containment zones spotted in queues outside liquor shops, tension grips several places in North 24-Parganas, Nadia and Hooghly districts.
Sale of liquor had been banned in Bengal till May 4 since the imposition of the lockdown on March 23. On May 4, the Bengal government allowed liquor shops to reopen in green, orange and red zones. But alcohol remained banned in containment zones which were cordoned off till they turned orange. Till Thursday, Bengal had 555 containment zones.
Barrackpore resident Arun Agrawal said: “Mostly youths are coming in large numbers to buy liquor here from containment zones in Titagarh, Panihati and Kamarhati. We are in red zone and fear getting exposed to the disease from people from the containment zones.”
Trouble broke out at Daiyerbazar near Krishnagar recently when some youths suspected to be from Charatala, a containment zone, arrived to buy liquor from a shop. The youths had to leave because of the local people’s opposition.
At Chanditala in Hooghly, local residents spotted a few customers who had come from Howrah. The locals asked police to shut down the liquor shop.
An officer of Chanditala police station said: “Residents of Gangadharpur objected to the presence of people from Domjur, Dankuni, Uttarpara, and Serampore at the local liquor shop. This led to tension when we went with excise officials to shut down the shop temporarily.”
“The rush for liquor at Gangadharpur has become difficult for us to control. The concern of the local people was also genuine,” a senior police officer said.
A health directorate officer said: “We have requested the police to monitor the movement of people in containment zones so that there is no violation of Covid-19 protocol.”