Goa: Sanguem town shuts down for 3 days till Sunday

QUEPEM: Ninety percent of shops and business establishments in Sanguem town remained shut after the local merchants association announced a self-imposed lockdown for three days from Friday. All areas around the town wore a deserted look from morning till night.
President of merchants’ association, Raju Desai said that most shopkeepers were present during the meeting called on Thursday evening to decide on the lockdown.Desai justified the self-imposed lockdown in Sanguem, stating that the areas of Uguem where three Covid-19 positive cases have been detected are located on the borders Sanguem Municipal Council’s (SMC) jurisdiction.
He also said that two patients from Ponsamoll in Uguem had visited Sanguem town several times before testing positive.
The Uguem panchayat has already imposed an eight-day lockdown in three of its wards villages .
“Our main aim is to keep our people safe. We are not bothered of our monetary loss by closing down our shops, as people’s health is our priority,” Uday Poraskar, a saloon owner, said.
However, SMC’s chairperson Queiroz Cruz told TOI that the decision for a lockdown was not taken by the council. “If the locals and shopkeepers want to shut down, we will not oppose them. It is an individual’s right to take the decision whether to keep their shops open or closed,” said Cruz.
Sanguem MLA Prasad Gaonkar was of the opinion that the shopowners should have avoided a lockdown as people will be inconvenienced. He appealed to the people not to roam around unnecessary in public places.