Agra, Mathura streets look deserted as cops enforce lockdown

Agra, March 24 (IANS) As the police started enforcing lockdown, here on Tuesday, streets soon emptied and the public places wore a deserted look. Those found moving around on two-wheelers were subjected to “pulsiya treatment”, while senior district officials warned violators of prohibitory orders of jail terms.Retail outlets opened for two hours in morning, but state government’s total shutdown orders forced shopkeepers to down the shutters. According to an official, vegetable vendors will visit localities with local corporators on Wednesday morning.The objective, according to a municipal corporation official, is to block public movement and promote social distancing to flatten the curve of coronavirus spread.The police has put up barriers at 141 places in the city. Only ambulances are being allowed. The inter-district mobility has been suspended. The Yamuna Expressway as well as the Agra-Lucknow Expressway are closed.Mathura too has come under lockdown. Foreign devotees in Vrindavan lined up at the 100-bed hospital to get themselves screened.District authorities said medical facilities were being streamlined at the district hospital and the local S.N. Medical College. Private nursing homes have also been asked to gear up to meet the emergency.–IANSbk/pcj