Sudden police action leaves traders, shoppers high and dry

The decision of the administration to close down all commercial establishments and trading units except those selling essential commodities and providing services such as hospitals and pharmacies left

The decision of the administration to close down all commercial establishments and trading units except those selling essential commodities and providing services such as hospitals and pharmacies left people high and dry in Kalaburagi on Thursday. Police vehicles began patrolling the city at 4 p.m., blowing sirens and asking traders through loudspeakers to close their shops. In some places, including Super Market, Kapada Bazaar and Kirana Bazaar, police teams forcibly got the shops closed leaving traders as well as customers in shock. Police action created chaos in many places and left people, especially those who had arrived from villages, stranded in the city. “We came from a faraway village to purchase clothes for a wedding ceremony. The police emerged from nowhere all of a sudden and forcibly got the cloth shop closed. They did not even give us time to complete the transaction. We don’t know what to do now. We are not sure whether we have buses to return to our village,” a man standing at Kapda Bazaar told The Hindu.