India News | Normal Life Hit Across Bengal Due to Complete Lockdown
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Normal life was affected across West Bengal as a total lockdown was imposed in the state on Wednesday in the wake of a spurt in COVID-19 cases.
Kolkata, Aug 5 (PTI) Normal life was affected across West Bengal as a total lockdown was imposed in the state on Wednesday in the wake of a spurt in COVID-19 cases.
It is part of the twice-a-week lockdown imposed in the state since July 23 to break the chain of the infection. Wednesday is the fourth lockdown day in a fortnight.
Security has been tightened to enforce the lockdown and to avert untoward incidents in the wake of the groundbreaking ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya during the day, a police official said.
Politically volatile West Bengal is likely to witness a showdown between the police and activists of saffron outfits as the latter have planned to perform rituals at temples and their offices to mark the Ayodhya event amid the lockdown.
Police personnel were seen patrolling major traffic intersections in Kolkata.
Public transport was off the roads and government and private offices, banks and commercial establishments, barring those engaged in essential services, were shut due to the lockdown.
Flight services in and out of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport were suspended for the day and long-distance trains were rescheduled.
Medicine stores, health establishments and petrol pumps have been kept out of the lockdown's purview.
Schools, colleges and other educational institutions in the state have remained closed since late March when the first phase of the nationwide lockdown was imposed.
A complete lockdown was earlier imposed in West Bengal on July 23, 25 and 29.
The West Bengal government has imposed total lockdown in the state on August 5 (Wednesday), 8 (Saturday), 20 (Thursday), 21 (Friday), 27 (Thursday), 28 (Friday) and 31 (Monday), as per a notification issued on Monday.
The state's caseload reached 80,984 while its coronavirus death toll rose to 1,785 on Tuesday, a health bulletin said. PTI PNT ACD ACD 08051122 NNNNout crowd of 30,000. Masks were only required upon entrance. Fans were told they could remove them once in their seats.
Tickets were on sale through Tuesday evening and still available on Bristol's website until the deadline. The speedway is privately owned and attendance figures are not required to be released.
Concession stands were open, but typical shopping opportunities were limited and independent street-side souvenir stands along Speedway Boulevard hawked driver items and even a few Confederate flags.
As fans arrived, they were greeted by a plane flying over the Tennessee track that was pulling a banner of the Confederate flag.
NASCAR in June banned the flag at its events, but protesters at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama paraded past the main entrance waving them from their vehicles. A plane also flew over the speedway that day with a flag that read “Defund NASCAR,” a play on the “defund the police” slogan of some protesting racial injustice.
President Donald Trump has criticized NASCAR for banning the Confederate flag, blaming the decision for the sport's “low ratings,” although TV ratings for NASCAR have been up since racing resumed.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans of Columbia, Tennessee, claimed it had paid for the banner over Talladega. The one flying over Bristol Motor Speedway listed only the group's website. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)