WB govt allows sweet shops to be open for 4 hrs amid COVID-19 lockdown

The West Bengal government on Tuesday allowed sweet shops in the state to remain open for four hours a day, amid the nationwide lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.

As sweets are one of the most popular food items in the state, the decision has brought cheers to some of the daily customers.

Speaking to ANI, Poonam Gupta, a customer, said: "I am very happy that after several days of lockdown, we are finally able to purchase sweets, which was unexpected. As it is not possible to purchase these sweets every day, we are buying them in bulk."

However, Sujay Mullick, a shop owner, remained sceptical about the flow of customers following the announcement.

"We are welcoming the decision, but we don't know what lies in the future. We have 10 shops, but we could only open three shops, as most staff members have gone to their homes. Only a few staff members are left, so we have been able to make fewer sweets. We used to have 150 varieties of sweets, but we could only make 10 varieties."

Mullick further stated that post the period of lockdown, a huge quantity of milk has been wasted, and the sweet shops were facing the danger of cattle deaths due to minimal feeding and milking.

"We could have not gathered any more cattle after the lockdown, and that would have thrown the sweet industry in jeopardy," he added.

"We are also practicing social distance, and have placed mats in the shop. We are maintaining hygiene by providing sanitisers to customers. Overall, we are trying to promote a healthy environment," he further said.

Mullick also provided special sweet packages to media representatives from Doordarshan, and also provided free lunch packages for medics, paramedics and police officers.

This comes as the country is under a 21-day lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which has claimed 32 lives and infected at least 1251 people.