Aadi fest sale ignites fear of Covid spread

Madurai: It was a free for all on Saturday as large crowds thronged the shops as many had announced Aadi discounts for the Tamil month. Covid safety norms were thrown to the wind even as the government had allowed shops to open by following standard operating procedures post the lockdown relaxations in the state.

As Covid-19 cases are coming down in the district, people seem to have downed their precautions as many are seen without wearing masks and a lot many, including police personnel, are seen wearing their masks improperly. Enforcement is lacking as there is no monitoring.

On Saturday, all the shops had put up advertisements for discount sales, and people started thronging the shops from early morning. Since it was a cloudy day, crowds were seen even during the afternoon. The shops do not maintain physical distance, fail to check the temperature of customers and also don’t provide sanitisers to them.

V P Manikandan, a social activist, said that the government should take steps to ensure that the shops followed the SOPs, because it was during the Onam festival last year in Kerala that the Covid cases started increasing after the rush.

Clubs such as Rotary Clubs, Lions clubs and other social clubs have also started having installation meetings with hundreds of people and they do not figure in the list of priorities in the lockdown specifics. This should be prevented at all costs, he said.

“It is predicted that the country would see the third wave soon, maybe even in August, and if the shops and temples continue to allow crowds like they did on Saturday, we can expect it even earlier,” said S V Pathy, founder for the Centre for Environmental Services.

He said the opening of temples and shops, especially Tasmac, was a big mistake. “We are giving 400 tokens and see 5,000 people queuing up outside the vaccination centres. The government should not allow shops to have more than 100 people a day, and those with crowds outside should be sealed,” he said.

As bus services were started, people from other districts and villages were coming in large numbers to the city for shopping, adding to the concern, he said.