The block markets in Salt Lake will have only single entry and exit points for the next several weeks, an official of Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation said.

A civic team visited the markets in sector I, II and III, to work out ways to implement a rule where only one gate for entry and one for exit will be kept open.

Salt Lake mayor Krishna Chakraborty said the civic body had asked all market committees to have facilities to wash hands at the gates or to keep sanitisers.

“We will help them to set up these facilities. We will hold a meeting soon,” she said.

Chakraborty said the civic body wants to ensure that everyone who enters a market sanitises or washes his/her hands.

A pilot run will take place on Sunday to find out problems, if any.

Most markets in Salt Lake are oval shaped and have multiple entry and exit points.

A civic official said they had initially asked the shopkeepers to keep hand sanitisers and ask customers to use them before handling money.

“It did not work out as the traders were not willing to bear the cost of sanitisers,” said the official.

Many residents feel that this might result in overcrowding near the gates.

Duttabad

A 21-year-old woman, who stays in Duttabad, tested positive for Covid-19 late on Friday. She was admitted to a government hospital on Saturday, an official of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation said.

Five of her family members have been sent to a quarantine centre in Rajarhat.