The city is currently experiencing its first weekend lockdown after the Maharashtra government released the new guidelines on April 4 due to the recent surge in Covid-19 cases. A little more than a year after Covid-19 pandemic affected the country, this is the first lockdown the state has witnessed in 2021. As the city battles with a vaccine shortage, the need for Covid-19 testing and the lockdown guidelines, citizens are only allowed to set out only for emergencies, even as they fear being caught in the crosshairs of policemen. People who step out without a need for essential services will be booked and will have to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 – 2,000.  

Setting out to take his wife to the hospital for a doctor’s appointment, Virar-based Gajanand Yadav has had a tough morning. “I was stopped by the policemen when I was going to the doctor, it is only after I showed them the papers, was I let go,” he says. Yadav, who is an office-goer, adds, “The weekend lockdown isn’t really helpful because if people can go out on weekdays, it does not make a difference on the weekend. In fact, it is affecting the common man a lot. Yes, if the government puts out a complete lockdown for 10 days, it makes more sense than for two days now.”