(Article by Darshan Mistary)
NASHIK: India is a land of festivals and celebrations. During the festive season in India, the whole atmosphere fills with joy and excitement. Similarly, Nashikites are desperately waiting for festivals to be with their relatives and friends and celebrate the different festivals. However, in the last two years, the pandemic has prevented people from celebrating various festivals together.
The strict restrictions of lockdown were relaxed after the number of Covid-19 patients decreased in Nashik. Although the fear of pandemic in Nashik city is less than before, the risk of Corona Delta strain remains. Due to the upcoming period of festivals, citizens are crowding the city markets and public places. This crowding might give birth to the third wave in the district.
To prevent the third wave, the district administration has appealed to citizens, including traders in city market, to abide by the Corona rules. Also, they have urged every citizen to follow the rules of social distancing in this pandemic. Deshdoot Times reached out to a doctor, traffic police, and shop trader in the city to review the situation after the post lockdown.
Dr. Pratik Deore stated every citizen should know their responsibility and make themselves self-disciplined. They should avoid going out in crowded public places in the upcoming festive season. He further mentioned that every citizen must be aware of the guidelines as declared by the administration for this pandemic and must follow the same. Every individual should ensure to get vaccinated as early as possible.
The traffic police at Shalimar (anonymous), on being questioned about the upcoming festivals in the city, stated that people should follow the safety measures and Covid-19 guidelines even if they will crowd the markets.
Satish Kalaskar, a cloth store owner at Main Road (Ravivar Karanja), explained how difficult it is for him to run the shop and what kind of problems he faces. Pandemic has affected businesses in all sectors. He even said that after the post lockdown, people do not come to shop in Shalimar and Main Road areas as they used to come, before during festivals season. This has reduced the number of customers coming to all the shops in this area. He wants the pandemic to eradicate from the face of earth as soon as possible.
The district administration should take strict action against people who don’t follow the guidelines and crowd the market.