Panic buying: Groceries, food items fly off the shelves

Traffic jams at Santhepet and surrounding areas as people crowd shops

Mysore/Mysuru: With just hours left (from last evening) for the first weekend curfew of 2021 to begin, an unusually high crowd was witnessed ‘panic buying’ at shops, supermarkets, markets and other areas that predominantly sell essential items yesterday. 

Customers could be seen flocking to various shops without maintaining enough distance from each other and the possibility of social distancing came to nought with no separate markings made to maintain distance in the shops. 

People started hoarding ration and the city’s roads, especially in Santhepet and surrounding lanes witnessed traffic snarls. People were busy purchasing liquor, tobacco, grocery and vegetables. Similar scenes were witnessed at Devaraja Market, M.G. Road Market and Agrahara. People were purchasing in bulk as they feared that the curfew might continue further. 

The rush continued even after 8 pm too and shops remained open as there were customers. Shop-keepers said people were purchasing groceries in bulk and the demand has suddenly increased. The Police had a tough time in closing the shops ahead of the 9 pm deadline. 

While most items have gone out of stock in smaller shops, managers in bigger supermarkets said that the situation is not grim as they have enough stocks and ensured supply. Daily essentials such as rice, pulses and basic spices have been flying off market shelves and the quantities which people have been purchasing have been higher than usual, according to the store-keepers.

Grocery store merchants at Santhepet said that customers who would otherwise ask for 5 kilos of rice a week have been asking for at least 10 kilos. There is a huge demand for food items now. Provisions in particular, are being brought in large quantities. Other items such as cosmetics are hardly being purchased, said the manager of a supermarket in city. 

Many parts of the city witnessed unusual heavy traffic from as people rushed home before the night and weekend curfew that began at 9 pm. All the shops, hotels, roadside eateries, commercial establishments in the heart of the city and in residential extension areas closed while petrol outlets remained open. 

At many private offices and establishments, workers, who have to travel for over an hour to reach their houses, were allowed to start earlier. Since vehicle movement was high, many arterial roads and junctions witnessed traffic congestions. Added to this was the loudspeaker announcement made by the Police in vehicles where people were told to strictly follow the timings.

 The Police were also informing shoppers not to go for panic buying as a four-hour window for shopping was open from 6 am to 10 am on Saturday (today) and Sunday.  Check-posts were set up besides night patrol teams for checking vehicle movements. Police personnel have been deployed as part of checks for night and weekend curfew and persons moving with valid reasons were not stopped.