Chandigarh, March 24 (IANS): One of the iconic cricket grounds in the city was turned into a 'temporary jail' on Tuesday to detain violators of a curfew imposed to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

The ground in Sector 16 is the home pitch of Kapil Dev, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh.

"We have converted the cricket stadium in Sector 16 and the sports complex in Manimajra into a temporary jail to house those who are found violating curfew orders," a government functionary told IANS.

The cricket stadium, spread over 15.32 acres, a capacity to hold more than 20,000 people.

According to the police, a first information report (FIR) will be registered under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for violating the curfew norms.

With coronavirus cases spiking to seven, Punjab Governor-cum-Administrator of Chandigarh, V.P. Singh Badnore, on Monday decided to impose indefinite curfew as a precaution in the city, starting midnight.

The Director General of Police has been asked to enforce the curfew without any relaxation whatsoever.