Panic buying erupted across cities in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday after the state government announced that hotspots in 15 districts would be immobilised from Wednesday midnight to the morning of April 15, with even vegetable vendors, grocery stores and milk kiosks closed.

As hundreds scrambled to buy essentials in Lucknow, social distancing was forgotten and prices shot up. Arhar dal, available at Rs 100 a kg till Tuesday, was selling for Rs 200 a kg on Wednesday evening. The price of okra jumped from Rs 60 a kg to Rs 100.

Chief secretary R.K. Tiwari, who announced the decision, promised home delivery of essentials in the hotspots. “We will deliver essential items at the doorstep,” Tiwari said.

But people did not appear convinced. Although only some localities were named as hotspots, the scramble was seen across Lucknow.

“People don’t want to know in which area there would be a complete lockdown. All they believe is that the government can lock them in their houses anytime and so they should have enough eatables for a few weeks,” a photojournalist said.

Witnesses in Varanasi and Meerut reported similar scenes. “The intensified lockdown is announced for four localities of Varanasi but panic buying is on even in Sarnath, 10km away. People were arguing with each other and fighting to buy the eatables first,” said Saurabh Singh, a Varanasi resident.

Noida, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur, Bulandshahr, Shamli, Bareilly, Agra, Firozabad, Sitapur, Basti, Maharajganj, Kanpur are the other 12 districts.

Rural areas were un-affected.