Most probably for the first time ever, entire has been locked down, and a self-curfew imposed across the length and breath of India. The objective is to defeat the spread of coronavirus, and break the chain.
PM Modi during his speech this week asked every Indian to follow Janta Curfew, self-imposed quarantine on Sunday, March 22, 2020. He asked every Indian to stay at home, and help flatten the curve of coronavirus spread.
This Janta Curfew will be applicable between morning 7 to night 9, for full 14 hours.
Although this won’t be enough to entirely stop the spread of virus, but this will educate, inform every Indian about the danger, and mentally prepare them for the long haul, if needed.
As per some experts, atleast 3-4 weeks of complete lockdown is required, in order to stop coronavirus from growing any further.
Here are 5 developments related with Janta Curfew:
- Indian Railways has canceled 3700 trains on Sunday, which is an unprecedented move. The trains which started on Friday/Saturday and still running, will not be stopped. But bare minimum new trains will run on Sunday. Railways said, “No passenger or express train will originate from any railway station on the country between Saturday/Sunday midnight to 10:00 pm on Sunday,”
- Although PM Modi had said that this curfew will be not imposed by any cop or authority, and it’s upto the Janta or the citizens to execute it, Bengaluru cops has stated that they will detain and book anyone found violating this curfew. This has been confirmed by Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, as he said, “I have advised my staff to be polite with the people, check reasons for coming out of their homes and advise them to go back. If they don’t abide and argue with the police, they will be detained and booked for violating the law,”.
- Bengaluru police will detain and book violators of Janta Curfew under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), the Karnataka Police Act 30 (Section L) and the Epidemic Act.
- Just before the start of Janta Curfew, PM Modi appealed to every Indian to stay inside their home, and help India fight back coronavirus. He said that with patience and determination, we can defeat coronavirus.
- Response to the call of Janta Curfew has been positive. There are almost no vehicles on the road, and several social media users shared that they are finally able to listen to birds chirping, and winds blowing. While most of the airlines are running at less than 50% capacity today, metro services have been halted in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru.
We will keep you updated, as more details come in.