The Old Jail Land campus in Fancy Bazar, Guwahati, Assam will be opened to facilitate the opening of wholesale counters as the country goes into 21-day lockdown to contain the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Six temporary structures have been erected by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) to facilitate the district administration for opening the wholesale counters.

Free parking facility will also be provided throughout the lockdown period. The temporary facilities will be closed on cessation of the lockdown period.

“A good number of street vegetable and fruit vendors have already started trading from March 26th, 2020 in the open ground within the campus,” Moloy Bora, Chief Executive Officer, GMDA.

The officials of the Kamrup Metropolitan district administration and Guwahati Police have inspected the site.

The shop owners have been asked by authorities to frequently sanitize the counters and maintain hygiene, social distancing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a three week country-wide lockdown from midnight of March 24th, 2020 to break the cycle of coronavirus infections in India.

Modi said this drastic measure was necessary to protect the state of India’s health and its economy.

File photo