Ahmedabad:
The ‘Janata curfew’ call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a good response in Gujarat on Sunday as the entire state was in a self-imposed lockdown to fight the coronavirus.
Streets were empty and shops and business establishments remained shut in the state.
Roads, railway stations and airports in the state’s four major cities – Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot – wore a deserted look on Sunday morning.
People stayed indoors and hardly anybody was seen emerging from residential societies in Ahmedabad.
All major roads in Ahmedabad, like the SG Highway and SP Ring Road, were empty, as was the Kalupur fruit market which is usually crowded in the mornings.
Public transport services, including buses of the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC), private buses, local civic-run buses and services of the Bus Rapid Transit System (in Ahmedabad, Surat and Rajkot) remain closed.
Services of the Ahmedabad Metro were also suspended.
Gujarat has so far recorded 14 cases of coronavirus.
Th Gujarat government on Saturday announced partial lockdown in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, directing that all non-essential shops and establishment will remain shut down till March 25.