Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a Janata Curfew on Sunday has seen widespread support in Jharkhand, where no confirmed novel coronavirus case has yet been reported.
A number of organisations have come forward to raise awareness about the voluntary-shutdown call.
A unit of the National Service Scheme of Ranchi University conducted an awareness campaign at Albert Ekka Chowk in Ranchi on Saturday with banners that said: “Please stay at home and have a great Sunday.”
In an appeal signed by both its president Kunal Ajmani and general secretary Dheeraj Taneja, the Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI), the apex trade body of the state, had appealed to its members to keep their establishments shut on Sunday.
All establishments of the state are not closed on Sunday.
“Yes, the market in Gumla remains closed on Monday, not Sunday,” said Himanshu Keshri, president of the Gumla Chamber of Commerce, an affiliate of the FJCCI.
The Gumla chamber has also appealed to its members to observe the curfew on Sunday.
The railway authorities have already announced that trains will not leave their originating stations between 4am and 10pm on Sunday.
Ranchi railway division, in a separate notice, has informed that inter-city trains from Ranchi to Howrah, Dhanbad, Deoghar and Sasaram will remain cancelled while some other trains from Ranchi to places like Howrah, Bhagalpur, Dumka, Islampur and Patna will be rescheduled, delaying their departure time up to a maximum of 3 hours and 20 minutes.
Dinesh Soni, founder of Pradesh Diesel Auto Chalak Mahasangh, has also appealed to all auto and e-rickshaws operators not to ply their vehicles on Sunday.
Doctors have also supported the Janata Curfew.
“Observing such a curfew is a welcome move as that will help the break the chain of transmission of disease, at least for a day,” said Dr Matin Ahmad Khan, associate professor of MGM Medical College, Jamshedpur.
Dr Manoj Kumar of the microbiology department of RIMS, Ranchi, said: “It will also be a sort of mock drill in case any such emergency arises in future.”
