People in Suntikoppa opposed the imposition of the weekend lockdown in Kodagu.
The weekend lockdown was clamped across the district as per government order, following a rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in Kerala, which shares a border with Kodagu.
Accordingly, the weekly shandy in Suntikoppa was suspended.
However, people from the villages in the hobli limits reached the market on Sunday morning to purchase essential commodities, which resulted in large gatherings.
People were allowed to purchase essential commodities between 5 am and 2 pm.
The market area was empty. But, the vendors began selling produce, such as vegetables by the side of the road, leading to a chaotic situation. People also thronged the meat stalls.
Even though permission was not given to mobile phone, cloth and electrical shops, some shopkeepers engaged in business. This compelled the police personnel to insist that the shopkeepers close the shops.
The shopkeepers and the general public opposed the move of the police personnel on the occasion.
Tourist vehicles operate
The general public vented their ire against the movement of tourist vehicles from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Bengaluru, Pondicherry and Andhra Pradesh in the region and urged the district administration to impose a strict ban on tourist vehicles from outside the district.
The people also alleged that the district administration has totally failed to stop the illegal migrants from Assam and Bangladesh who have sneaked into the district in large numbers.
Owners of clothes, footwear and other shops questioned the relevance of allowing only vegetable and milk shops.
How can there be an exemption when the Covid-19 virus could be contracted from any place? asked merchants Farooq and Kishan.
Vendors Sunil, Vinod, Chidananda, Shantaram, Ganesh and Pavitra said that their businesses were just catching pace after a long period of lockdown.
At this point, if the lockdown is imposed again, they will be under huge difficulty. All shops should be allowed to operate till 2 pm, they said.
As the crowd grew large in the town, the Gram Panchayat administration started evicting the street vendors. The town wore a deserted look after 2 pm.