In a bid to arrest the spread of Covid, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) now plans to experiment with an odd-even date formula for stores providing essential services. Assistant municipal commissioner Vinayak Vispute on Tuesday issued letters to shopkeepers at Bazar road in Bandra West regarding this. This was done after people were found loitering around under the pretext of buying essential items, civic officials said.

The move was also a result of a breakout of Covid cases in crowded pockets of the city. The Bazar road, which has a number of grocery stores, is surrounded by residential areas. The H West ward, led by Vispute, consists of Bandra West, Khar and Santacruz West and has so far registered 16 positive cases.