Pb, Chandigarh admins receive curfew pass requests for taking dog for walk, getting haircut

From permission to go for morning walks to calling a barber home, many frivolous requests from residents seeking curfew passes have been received by the authorities in Punjab and Chandigarh, officials said on Thursday.

Already hard pressed for implementing the lockdown restrictions and ensuring supply of essential items at people's doorsteps, the concerned authorities in the state and the Union Territory have appealed to residents to avoid making requests for curfew passes in the absence of any "genuine" reasons.

Both Punjab and Chandigarh have imposed curfews in their respective territories to implement the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus.

"People have been coming up with funny requests for curfew passes. One such request was from a Chandigarh resident, living in a flat, who sought a pass for taking the dog outside. Another request was for calling a barber at home for a haircut because shops are closed," a senior official of Chandigarh Administration said.

In Mohali, the district administration received calls seeking curfew passes to go for morning and evening walks.

"We have received requests from people for curfew passes for going for morning and evening walks. They cite that they are not feeling healthy because their walks have stopped due to imposition of restrictions," Mohali Sub Divisional Magistrate Himanshu Jain told PTI.

Besides, some requests came from VIPs who want passes for their gunmen or cooks, officials said.

In Mohali's Dera Bassi, the authorities got a request from a person that he be allowed to visit his maternal family.

Officials said people with such requests do not understand the seriousness of the issue and pointed out that they should support the administration in tackling the present situation in an effective manner.

The SDM's office of Punjab's Kharar town alone received around 2,000 calls for curfew passes since the restrictions were imposed.

Meanwhile, the authorities claimed that they had issued curfew passes to vegetable vendors, chemists associations and ration shops for supply of essential items at the doorsteps of residents.