Pune: With the police and administration tightening the coronavirus lockdown noose in Pune and allowing grocery stores to remain open only for two hours a day - from 10 am to 12 noon in the sweltering heat - retail shop owners feel that this move is defeating the purpose of keeping people at a safe distance from each other. 

Change in time
Suryakant Pathak, the executive director of Grahak Peth, who is also associated with Grahak Panchayat, has demanded that the district administration should consider changing the time to 8-10 am so that customers can get their shopping done before the heat becomes unbearable. Pathak said that the 10 am-12noon time fixed for selling groceries is inconvenient to people who have to wait in long queues under the scorching sun. 

Many places have reportedly had arguments flaring up between sellers and customers because of that. Shopkeepers across the city have also expressed the need to change this rule. 

Violation of social distancing
With only two hours to stock up on supplies, residents throng the shops in large numbers. Managing the crowd all the while maintaining hygiene and social distancing is getting difficult for not just the shopkeepers but for other customers too. 

“Two hours are not enough! What is the point of opening the shop if we are not able to keep a safe distance between people,” said S Chaudhari, owner of Om Super Market in Model Colony. 

From April 20, the new lockdown laws have come into effect due to the increasing number of COVID-19 patients in the city, that has reduced the number of hours grocery shops can be kept open. 

Chaudhari said that timings should be increases, for example, from 7 am to 2 pm, to allow people to come at different times and keep a safe distance from each other. 

Uday Sane, a resident of Narayan Peth, said, “I feel the basic principle of social distancing is lost in these two hours. There is a mad rush unnecessarily. Some political aspirants are taking this opportunity and distributing free one / two vegetables and again mad rush for free things.”

Permission to work when shutters down 
Pathak also asked for relaxation from the police to allow retailers to do their work, like procuring supplies from the wholesale market and off-loading the supplies at their shop, which requires them to keep the shop open. This cannot be done while customers keep pouring in. 

He also said that many NGOs and social service organisations give orders for ration kits at grocery shops, that are then distributed to the needy. Preparation of such kits, even if it is done when the shutters are down, should be allowed by the police.