'Janata curfew': Roads, railway stations empty in Bihar

Roads, railway stations, bus stands across Bihar wore a deserted look on Sunday with people voluntarily staying indoors in view of the 'janata curfew' call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus.

Buses were not plying on city roads as the administration had already taken a decision to stop city bus service, besides inter-district and inter-state services till March 31.

Except police personnel and few passersby, one could hardly find anyone on the streets.

"We need to be more alert and cautious in our fight to curb the spread of coronavirus. We must keep ourselves confined to our homes for the next few days. This is how we can break the chain," said Ravi Kumar, a resident of Sri Krishna Nagar, Patna.

Bihar reported its first death due to COVID-19 on Sunday, as a man with a travel history to Qatar died at the AIIMS here, hospital superintendent CM Singh said.

"I think that people have understood the gravity of the situation and hence they must have patience to remain indoors as it is in our interest," said Jitendra Kumar Srivastava, a resident of Chandni Chowk area of Muzaffarpur.

The prime minister had on March 19 proposed the 'janta curfew' between 7 am and 9 pm on Sunday as part of social distancing, saying the world has never seen a danger as grave as this.

Of the four Bihar-bound trains which began their journey from Pune and Mumbai on Saturday, two trains have reached Danapur in Patna on Sunday morning while another two trains will reach Patna on Monday.

The government has made arrangements for getting all the train passengers screened, officials said.