Five more areas sealed in Peshawar for Covid-19 threat

PESHAWAR: The government on Monday sealed five more areas in Peshawar in the wake of rising cases of coronavirus in the provincial capital.

A notification issued by the district administration on Monday said that smart lockdown was imposed in five more areas due to the fast spread of coronavirus in these areas. The areas where smart lockdown had been imposed included Phase-VI and VII in Hayatabad, Bashirabad, Palosai village near Agriculture University and Mandi Village in Hassankhel in rural Peshawar.

The notification said that only shops of essential items, including food items, medicines, tandoor and emergency service would remain open while other activities would remain suspended.

The notification warned of strict action against those found involved violating the order. Meanwhile, the residents of Phase-VI and VII in Hayatabad criticised the

lockdown without giving any prior information to them.

A resident of Phase-VI, Asif Ali Shah, told this scribe that he was unaware of the lockdown in Phase-VII but Phase-VI was completely sealed. He also said that when he was returning from shopping, the cops were allowing them to enter into Phase-VII but not Phase-VI.

The resident went to the bazaar for some shopping but on return he saw a long queue of vehicles on the road from the Institute of Management Sciences side. The cops had blocked the road and were not allowing anyone to go home. He said that he tried another road but that too was blocked.

Asif Ali Shah, who is school principal, said the cops were not allowing the residents to go home. He said the government should have given prior notice to the residents so that they were mentally prepared.

“This is not the way to lock down an area. The government had informed the entire country through all means of communication before imposing lockdown in Lahore,” he said. Zyad Khan, who lives in Phase-VII, said that he did not face any problem when he was returning home from work.

It did not appear that lockdown has been imposed as the traffic on road was like a routine, he added. Sahib Khan, who hails from Palosi village, said that he was personally not aware of any case in his village as people do not disclose such information due to the fear that police would block roads to their home.

Meanwhile, the administration arrested 162 persons and sealed 72 shops during the crackdown against the violators of the standard operating procedures. The administration sealed Madina Market on University Road and a cell phone market in Saddar for not adopting the SOPs.

The officials claimed that a total of 72 shops were sealed across the district for violations. During the crackdown, 162 persons were also arrested. The arrested persons also included nanbhais for selling low-weight roti. The officials also sealed a swimming pool on Charsadda Road.