The Kamrup (metro) district administration has allowed book shops and book stalls in the city to open with restrictions from Wednesday.

An order from the office of the deputy commissioner Kamrup (metro) stated that the book stalls and shops dealing with curriculum books for students are only allowed to operate.

Book shops and stalls have ben asked to arrange for home delivery while guardians wanting to collect books from shops and stalls may do so without using vehicles. However, the deputy commissioner’s office will not provide passes to guardians in this regard.

The district administration said employees of the stalls and shops will be required to follow basic norms of social distancing and wear masks and use sanitisers while handling items.

Shops and stalls are allowed to open from 10am to 5pm.

The district administration further ordered that while issuing identity cards to employees and vehicles in case of movement of employees and vehicles, the owners don’t have to obtain permission from the administration.

The order from the district administration came after the ministry of home affairs (MHA) allowed opening of shops of education books for students on Tuesday.

The order to open book shops and stalls came as a huge relief to the students. Various educational institutes and Board of Secondary Education Assam (SEBA) are offering online teaching for students during the lockdown period. Heads of various schools and colleges are thankful to the administration for opening of book stalls and shops which will result in availability of books aiding online classes.

Many of the schools and colleges in the city were not able to provide books to students because of the lockdown.

Competitive exams aspirants heaved a sigh of relief upon the opening of the stalls and shops. The aspirants said the administration should have let the shops open from the first day of the lockdown itself as they got ample time to prepare as the exam dates are getting closer.