Daijiworld Media Network – Panaji (EP)

Panaji, Mar 28: Citizens thronged provision stores in large numbers to stock basic food supplies a day after chief minister Pramod Sawant announced that grocery shops would be opened due to public demand. There was chaos in the state on Friday as people mobbed groceries and other vendors maintaining no distance from each other throwing social distancing norms to the wind. Police could enforce distance between customers only in few places.

People crowded the shops in a scramble to buy food before stocks were wiped out. Police had to act against some persons in Bicholim, Valpoi and in the outskirts of Mapusa. Authorities closed down the Valpoi market after people crowded there on Friday. Mayor Madkaikar in Panaji announced that the municipal market would remain closed.

While crowding in grocery and vegetable shops continued to grow, there was support for a petition demanding a total shutdown. Mapusa municipal council and several panchayats started door delivery of essential grocery items.