The steel city, which started reporting Covid-19 cases from the second week of May, has put the administration on high alert.

Till lockdown 3.0, grocery, fruit, milk and vegetable shops remained open in the steel city well past 7pm as they came under the essential items.

Not any more.

Now, all shops selling essential commodities, except medicine stores, will have to down shutters in the city at 7pm when the night curfew kicks in.

City SP Subhash Chandra Jatt said a directive has been issued to all police stations and the patrolling personnel on jeeps and bikes to ensure that all essential shops such as grocery, vegetable and fruit shops are closed after 7pm. “Only medicine stores, dispensaries and health centres will remain open after 7pm in view of the home ministry directive on night curfew,” said the SP.

“The directive of Union home ministry clearly underlines that only for exceptional emergencies can people be allowed on roads between 7pm and 7am,” added city SP.

East Singhbhum administration has made it clear that companies operating in city areas will not be allowed to open. “The directive by the state government is quite clear that companies will only be allowed to function outside municipal corporation areas. In Jamshedpur most big companies are located inside the city and won’t be allowed to function till May 31,” said DC Ravi Shankar Shukla.

He added that they were following state orders such as allowing shops selling construction materials, storehouses (godowns), hardware shops, book and stationery shops and retail outlets of telecom firms to open in both urban and rural areas. However, shops selling mobiles, watches, consumer electronic appliances allowed to open only in panchayat (rural) areas. Private firms have been allowed to open with 30 per cent attendance.