Calcutta witnessed a “complete” lockdown on Saturday with even fewer people stepping out of their homes compared to Thursday, the first day of the staggered weekly clampdowns by the Bengal government to break the infection chain.

Police who were on the roads from 6am said fewer people meant fewer violations as well as instances of prosecution.

How Saturday stacked up against Thursday at some of the usually busiest spots in Calcutta:

Gariahat crossing

On Thursday, the police had to deal with a dozen or so morning walkers stepping out of home with a bag in hand for the bazaar on the way back. On Saturday, there was only a lone walk enthusiast.

“The vehicles of only doctors and nurses were on the roads today (Saturday). There was just one morning walker whom we stopped at the Gariahat crossing early this morning and sent him back home,” said an officer of Gariahat police station.

An elderly resident of Hindustan Park said the lockdown forced him to discontinue his habit of the last 27 years of morning walk on Saturday.

“On Thursday, I had returned home halfway after I saw so many police officers stopping and asking everyone on the road. I did not want to be harassed. So I have decided not to step out on the lockdown days at all. I will resume my walk from tomorrow,” said 77-year-old Debmalya Mukherjee.

From Behala to Shyambazar, the scene was almost similar. The rush of cyclists who were prosecuted at Shyambazar on Thursday was missing on Saturday. All the paratha and snacks shops near Behala, which had to be forcefully closed by police on Thursday, kept their shutters downed on Saturday.

Deserted stretches of the Park Circus seven-point crossing on Saturday Pradip Sanyal

Park Street

Around 11am, a posse of police personnel was spotted at the Park Street-Chowringhee Road crossing, stopping every vehicle and individual to seek explanation.

Those who could not explain why they had stepped out of their home were allowed to go but only after writing down their name, address and mobile number that would be sent to the court for prosecution by magistrate, the police said.

“The number of vehicles today was fewer than on Thursday. But several people came out on cycles with the plea of going to perform petty jobs like plumbing and cleaning at residences on Park Street. We did not allow them too,” said an officer.

The cops deflated the tyres of the cycles that came out on the road on Saturday. The drive continued in the evening also.

The movement of vehicles on Park Circus seven-point crossing was less on Saturday compared to the first day of complete lockdown.

Salt Lake

The scene outside Salt Lake City Centre around 11am on Saturday was a stark contrast to that on Gariahat or Park Street. Seven to eight vehicles, including four-wheelers and two-wheelers, were seen in front of Salt Lake City Centre. The vehicles were stopped by Bidhannagar police and checked one by one.

One of them was driven by a doctor on his way to his workplace. Another carried ward boys of a nearby hospital while a two-wheeler rider was a food deliveryman. All were allowed to proceed as they could cite a valid reason for being on the road.

A CA Block motorcyclist, Niladri Basu, was allowed to go after he showed the prescription to prove that he was indeed going to purchase medicines, while another motorcyclist could convince the police by saying he had come out of home for buying milk for his child.

Senior officers of Bidhannagar commissionerate said although the number of violations in the Salt lake area was fewer compared to that on Thursday, several people tried to break the lockdown on the fringe areas.

Deserted stretches of Shyambazar on Saturday Pradip Sanyal

Violations

A Sarat Bose Road resident has been arrested for allegedly going on a spin along the EM Bypass, violating the lockdown. The car was asked to stop at the Science City crossing around 10am on Saturday.

However, instead of stopping, the vehicle had accelerated and headed towards the Ruby crossing. In between, as the alert about the vehicle was aired, the cops at the Panchanangram crossing intercepted the car and handed over the person at the wheel to the local police station. A traffic constable was injured by the speeding vehicle before it could be intercepted.

A similar incident was reported near Pragati Maidan around 7.45am. A traffic sergeant suffered injuries on his hand while trying to intercept a motorcyclist for violating the lockdown.

Football

A group of young men, who were spotted playing football on a ground along the EM Bypass in Duttabad on Thursday, were seen playing on Saturday, too.

“The cops had asked us not to get out in the morning but we play everyday and what’s the harm in it?” asked a player. The field where the youths gather is in a Covid-19 containment zone, an official of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation said.

Flyover death

Subhas Chandra Sharma, 50, was found unconscious with bleeding injuries on the Baghajatin flyover on Saturday.

Sharma, a rickshaw- puller, was taken to hospital where he was declared dead.

An unnatural death case has been started.