While the fear of Coronavirus has led to a shut down of malls, movie theaters and educational institutions in Jharkhand, some Ranchiites have started stocking ration and other edibles predicting a complete lockdown in future. Rumours spread on social media platforms coupled with the prediction of transportation blockade have resulted in a heavy rush at grocery stores and supermarkets lately.
44-year-old Bansidhar Sarangi, a cricket coach based out of Ratu Road, is one of the many city residents preparing for a possible lockdown. Sarangi has stocked ration for two months and other edibles at home fearing that grocery stores will soon run out of stock. “The owner of my grocery store told me that drivers who bring ration and other edibles to Ranchi might stop doing the trips amid Coronavirus fear. This will cause acute shortage of ration and other daily-use-products across the shops in Ranchi,” he said, adding that last weekend he bought ration for the next two months.
The demand for hand sanitizers, soaps and liquid hand-wash has also skyrocketed in the past one month or so, say retailers. However, the sudden demand for ration was unexpected, they added. Suraj Kumar, the store manager of Suvidha Mart, a supermarket on Kanke Road, said that several residents of Kanke Road and Morhabadi have placed orders of several kilograms of pulses, rice and wheat in the past one week or so. “The number of bulk orders has increased. People who bought 5Kg rice have bought 15Kg in the past week or so,” he said.
Rumours spread over social networking platform, WhatsApp, have added fuel to fire and caused panic among many residents of the city. A WhatsApp forward this correspondent recently received said that all shops, including grocery stores, will shut down in New Delhi as a preventive measure against Coronavirus. This shut down will soon affect other cities and cause crisis of ration and edibles, the message added. Similar posts have also gone viral on other platforms such as Facebook.
Kumkum Modi, a homemaker staying in Lalpur has stocked ration for a month in the fear of a lockdown. She bought rice, flour, sugar and dairy products earlier this week in a bid to be prepared for a crisis in the days to come. “My daughter who lives in the US said that Coronavirus has caused shortage of ration there. Even my son, who lives in Gurgaon, narrated a similar story. I wanted to be safe and have enough ration for a month,” she said.
While the virus has claimed over 5000 lives across the globe, primarily in Italy and China, it has affected more than 80 people in India and caused two deaths. No cases of Coronavirus have been reported in Jharkhand so far. However, nearly 100 people here are under observation after returning from countries affected by the virus.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Coronavirus a global pandemic.