Even before the national lockdown started, Maharashtra was under lockdown. The local trains had been ordered shut and there was a sense of calmness on the roads. However, the people of the city, who have never seen anything of this nature were panic-stricken. Like any other part of the country, most of them resorted to panic buying. The nearby shops that had bread, pav, instant noodles, eggs and chips on the front counters, started looking empty. There were widespread concerns on how they will get the supply in case the locals and other means of transportation remaining shut.
Even before things started to get sorted, there was an announcement of national lockdown. What followed was people forgetting everything about social distancing and queuing up in front of modern retails shops and Kirana stores to stock up everything that they think of. Result, the shops that were already unable to restock goods, had empty shelves and ran out other basic essentials such as maida, besan, Rava, poha, sauces, cheese, jam and in some places milk and oil too.
While the shops can only be open to selling essential goods, another thing that people have been missing is good old booze. The liquor shops are currently closed but people have managed to procure some by connecting to people over WhatsApp. There is a limited quantity available and people have to cough up almost twice the cost to get their hands on the same.
All these have also resulted in robberies for things of daily use. On April 12, there was a report on butter worth Rs 2,400 stolen from a dairy shop in Gorai Road in Borivali (East). The shop owner has lodged a complaint that 50 packs of Amul butter were stolen from his shop in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Other items that have been reported stolen in the last 24 hours are Rs 10,000 worth of cigarette packs, a carton of Royal Stag beer worth Rs 8,160, a box of Kingfisher beer worth Rs 1,900, tobacco packs worth Rs 5,000 and beedi bundles worth Rs 1,000. The nationwide lockdown has now been extended till May 3 and there are also new rules that were announced earlier in the day.
While some of these will help in easing out the demand and supply ratio but the government will have to think on how post-April 20, they can look at easing the need gaps in the supply chains while ensuring social distancing. The broad idea will be to continue to contain the spread of the virus but also make sure that people are able to get the daily supply without much hassle.
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