Shops selling “non-essential” goods such as garments and utensils in all CMC-run markets have reopened following a CMC notice issued on Wednesday allowing such shops to reopen.

All non-essential stores in markets in clean zones (no Covid case reported in the past 21 days) can reopen, the notice said. But only 25 per cent non-essential stores in buffer areas (zones just outside containment or affected zones) can open on a day.

A list of containment zones is uploaded on the CMC’s website daily. Market associations have been asked to send a list of stores that will open on each day of the week to the CMC.

Private offices running from CMC markets can operate with 50 per cent of the workforce. No market will be allowed to run in containment/affected zones.

All CMC-run markets in the city were in the clean zone till Friday, a CMC official said. In case a market gets into a containment zone, its operations will be stopped immediately, the official said.

“We have asked market associations to ensure that a distance of at least 6ft is maintained between two people in the markets,” an official from the CMC’s market department said.

New Market will open its doors to shoppers from Monday. The market will shut daily by 5.30pm.

Ferry services to resume

State-run ferry services will resume on nine routes (between 8am and 6pm) across the Hooghly from June 1.

“The vessels will not carry more than 40 per cent of their capacity and they will operate at an interval of roughly an hour,” said a transport department official said.

Some of the routes on which services will resume are: Howrah to Bagbazar via Ahiritola, Howrah to Fairlie Place, Fairlie Place to Kutighat and Belur to Kutighat.