In a hurry to reach home by 6 pm, vehicles pile up on city roads

Mysore/Mysuru: Mysuru city responded well for the first day of the dusk to dawn curfew (from 6 pm to 5 am) that began last evening. While shops and business establishments sent their staff home at 5 pm, dine-in hotels wound up business by 6 pm and only continued with parcel service till 9 pm. 

Added to the evening curfew was intermittent rains that forced people to rush home on time before the Police enforced the rule. There was heavy traffic jams in the Central Business District (CBD) where people rushed to go home. Bumper-to-bumper traffic was witnessed on D. Devaraja Urs Road, Sayyaji Rao Road, Ashoka Road, Gandhi Square and K.R. Circle. 

Traffic Police had a tough time in controlling and regulating traffic at key junctions amidst rain. At some places, the Police just gave up resulting in long lines of vehicles jostling for space. Only essential services were open and here too, many shops selling vegetables, fruits and milk closed at 6 pm as less shoppers were expected. 

Along with the small Kirana stores, even major grocery outlets and shopping bazaars closed at 6 pm as their employees had to reach home. Autos, cabs and buses operated on limited demand as now people prefer to take their own vehicles instead of depending on public transport in the wake of COVID-19 scare. 

Traffic Police and jurisdictional Police were seen making public announcements through mikes asking people to get back home early. They were also seen asking shops to close by 6 pm. Most of the liquor shops in the city limits closed by 6 pm and there was an unusual rush in front of some liquor shops for last-minute purchase. 

All dine-in facilities at hotels asked their customers to leave by 6 pm and continued their parcel service. There was good demand for parcels and even online food delivery services cashed-in on the demand.