Asif Shaikh
Heavy contingents of police and Rangers have been deployed across the city as the metropolis observed first day of lockdown due to coronavirus outbreak. According to details, bakeries, milk shops and medical stores are open while the families have to take permission from area’s SHO before holding funeral prayers.
Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah has directed the people to keep National Identity Card with them if they want to go outside for some important work.The security personnel have also released dozens of people for violating the orders after brief detention. On the other hand, Cantt Railway Station has witnessed large crowd due to the lockdown in Karachi. The passengers don’t have masks and hand sanitizers while the screening and precautionary measures are also inadequate.Meanwhile, notification has been issued for the suspension of domestic flights at Karachi and Sukkur airports from March 24.
Moreover, police claimed to have arrested as many as 315 people for violating lockdown in Karachi. Additional Inspector General of Karachi police said that at least 315 people were arrested for violating lockdown from different areas of the metropolis during the last 16 hours. He maintained that 46 cases have been registered against the detainees in various police stations. Many people, however, have claimed that they left their houses for some purpose but the policemen didn’t listen to them. “I had left my house to get a medicine from a store near my house,” a man told a private television channel. “The police arrested me before I could even go to the store.” The man has been taken into custody by the Paposh Nagar police. A married couple, who live in DHA, said that the Darakhshan police arrested their driver who was going to drop groceries at their other domestic helper’s house. & quot;The police aren’t listening to doing anything to help him, the woman added. Earlier on March 22, Sindh home department had released a notification for the imposition of a complete ban on public movement, social and religious gatherings across the province under Sindh Epidemic Diseases Act 2014 in view of the increase in the number of coronavirus cases.
The violation of the government orders will be considered as an offence punishable under section 188 of the Pakistan Penal code as provided under Section 4 of the said Sindh Epidemic Diseases Act 2014, the notification had read. Following the imposition of the lockdown, the movement of peopl including intercity or interprovincial travel, gathering of any kind for social, religious and any other purpose at any public or private place will remain banned for the next 15 days within the territorial limits of the province.
