Deserted roads and closed shops are not unusual sights for the people of Assam who have been living with bandhs, strikes and shutdowns over the years owing to an array of reasons, but on Sunday there was something different about it.

It was not an ordinary bandh called by any group or curfew imposed by the government. It was a united effort of common people to break the chain of the deadly coronavirus pandemic as Assam observed a total shutdown and remained indoors in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for a Janata Curfew.

“It is a blessing that no positive case of coronavirus has been detected yet in the state. But that does not mean we should be less cautious. Nobody should take the outbreak casually. The number of people affected by coronavirus and the deaths are rising sharply. Staying indoors, social distancing and hygiene are the vital steps to stay away from the deadly virus. Today it was not a curfew but its ‘care for you’. Not only today, everyone must follow the same routine as long as possible,” said Bikash Sarma, a city trader.

On Saturday, chief minister Sarabananda Sonowal too pressed for staying indoors as much as and as long as possible.

For city police officers who were patrolling the streets, the response of the residents of Guwahati was unprecedented. Commissioner of police (Guwahati), Munna Prasad Gupta said: “The city’s people remained indoors today and made this fight against the virus stronger.”

The police were seen working with officials of the Northeast Frontier Railway at Guwahati station to screen and disperse the passengers who reached the city from other parts of the state and country. Special bus service was also being arranged at the station for the passengers during this Janata Curfew. At least 12 passenger trains arrived in Guwahati station.

Both public and private vehicles remained off the road. Following the success of daylong Janata Curfew, the City Bus Owners’ Association of Guwahati decided to call off bus services in the city till Tuesday to prevent further outbreak of the virus.

Bus owners said their buses would undergo a proper sanitization process. “As per the direction of the transport department, we have started to keep sanitizers in the buses and the drivers and conductors are advised to wear masks and keep themselves sanitized all the time,” Bhaskar Kalita, a city bus owner, said.

The association said no buses would be allowed to ply during the shutdown and strict actions would be taken against the erring ones. Meanwhile, app-based taxi services like Ola and Uber have stopped their carpool (share cab) services till March 31 as a precaution.

However, the lazy Sunday turned exciting as soon as the clock struck five in the evening. Complying with Modi’s appeal to clap and create sounds at 5pm to acknowledge the untiring services of health workers, government officials, emergency service workers and media persons and to create awareness against Covid-19, citizens came out of their homes to their courtyards, backyards, balconies and the air reverberated with a medley of sounds of bor taal, sankha, khol, dhol, guitars and cymbals.

Homemakers used steel plates and glasses while the senior citizens resorted to clapping. The thundering beating of “doba” coming out of Chandannagar namghar reverberated the surroundings too.

“Thanking people who are working tirelessly for welfare of humanity is a good gesture. Now we cannot thank them in person or by shaking hands, but I am sure this resounding thanksgiving will do wonders for them,” Jugal Barman, who was seen playing the guitar outside his home, said.

“This is a unique call by the PM. I am happy to be a part of it. We should not forget the sacrifice of the emergency workers and all those who are working tirelessly to prevent the spread of the disease and also for those who have lost their battle while fighting,” a housewife, who was seen beating a steel plate, said. People blew conches, played drums, beat utensils in the city’s Lachit Nagar area too.

There was similar response across the state. In Tinsukia and in entire eastern Arunachal Pradesh districts too, all towns and villages witnessed deserted streets with shops and business establishments remaining closed. However, supply of milk remained normal.

Factories engaged in production of milk, cattle feed, food processing and pharmaceuticals were exempted as emergency services. The police, Press and army were on duty.

All the famous temples in the region remained closed.

However, daily wagers and small vendors are already facing the heat of the shutdown as their income came to a halt. Bishnu Saha, a daily wage worker, said: “I did not earn anything in the last four days.”

A youth from Daisajan village in Tinsukia said he had not received any job calls for the past one week as traders told him that transactions came to a halt due to coronavirus scare. They demanded compensation from the governments.

Assam police appealed to all in the state to stay away from the roads till 8am on Monday. “We thank the people of Assam for making the Janata Curfew a huge success; it’s but a start in our fight against coronavirus. We request you to stay indoors until 8am tomorrow. Please don’t move out until extremely necessary. Let’s do this in the interest of public health and safety,” Assam police tweeted. In many areas of the state, local police were seen announcing the appeal to stay home till Monday through loudspeakers.

Additional reporting by Hiranya Barman and Mohsin Khaiyam and Manoj Kumar Ojha in Doomdooma