Liquor, cigarette shops, offices open in Arunachal as third phase of lockdown begins with relaxations

Itanagar, May 4 () A number of shops apart fromthose selling essentital commodities opened along with officesin Arunachal Pradesh on Monday, as the country enetered thethird phase of the lockdown with more relaxations.

Liquor shops, pan and cigarette stalls and a fewgarment shops opened shutters in the state for the first timesince the coronavirus-induced lockdown came into force inMarch, officials said.

People made a beeline in front of wine shops here fromthe early hours but many were left disappointed as outlets ranout of stock.

"We are not in a position to meet the requirement ofevery customer due to limited stock," said Rinku Bora, ownerof a wine shop at O Point Tinali here.

He, however, said things should normalise in the nextfew days.

Shops selling stationery items, cigarettes and betelleaves also witnessed queues since morning.

Officials said people adhered to all safety safetyprecautions, including social distancing and wearing of maskswhile visiting the shops.

Some government and private offices also startedfunctioning with around 50 per cent staff.

Long queues were seen outside several bank branches atItanagar, Naharlagun and Nirjuli, too.

"The state capital witnessed heavy traffic in themorning hours, especially in the Ganga area as people venturedout of their houses," Capital SP Tumme Amo said.

The state cabinet has convened a meeting on Monday todiscuss about the modalities during the third phase of thelockdown till May 17.

"Though restrictions are relaxed in #Lockdown3,challenges still remain. Till there is no cure for #COVID19,we have to learn to live with it. To prepare ourselves forthese very challenges, convened a cabinet sitting today onpost 4th May lockdown implementation plan in Arunachal," ChiefMinister Pema Khandu wrote on Twitter. UPLRBT RBT