Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) appealed to traders of Jamshedpur and its surrounding areas to down shutters for at least a week in view of the steep rise in the number of Covid cases, pointing out that social distancing measures were not being adhered to in markets that were attracting huge crowds.

“Apart from appealing to local businessmen and traders to keep their shops closed in view of the rising cases we have also requested the East Singhbhum district administration to impose a lockdown. Market places are getting crowded ever since the re-opening of shops. People are also making a mockery of social distancing norms… no one is following safety protocols,” said SCCI president Ashok Bhalotia.

“If the situation continues like this, things will go from bad to worse,” he said explaining why they had appealed to traders to keep their shops closed for a week. “Those dealing in essential products, grocery items and milk can keep their shops open. Others should down shutters keeping in view of the spike in Covid-19 cases, " he added.

In an effort to ensure that safety protocols are followed, a joint team of officials from police and Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC) carried out an eviction drive to decongest lanes within Sakchi market.

"The drive was to remove shops that have encroached on to lanes in the market making it inconvenient for commuters," said Ravi Bharati, a JNAC official. Police also warned shopkeepers that they would be fined if they encroached on to lanes again.

East Singhbhum is among the worst effected districts of Jharkhand with the count of Covid cases touching 620 on Thursday.

As many as 32 positive cases were reported from various parts of the steel city on Wednesday, while 15 cases were reported till 5pm on Thursday. Tuesday’s count of 58 was the highest number of Covid cases on a single day in the steel city so far.

The state count of Covid-19 positive cases reached 3,192 till Thursday afternoon.