People thronged shops and markets across Imphal on Wednesday to stock up essential commodities, especially grocery, fruits and vegetables, medicines and hygiene products as rumours of complete lockdown spread.
People were seen queuing up in front of shops and thronging market places in Imphal and its outskirts.
Local wholesalers, retailers and shop-owners claimed that there have been demands for grocery items in the past two days. Rumours of re-imposition of the complete lockdown in the entire state any time are doing the rounds here in the last two days.
The rumours regarding the commencement of the complete lockdown was at a time while the chief minister is convening a high-level emergency meeting slated for October 22 to review the COVID-19 situation of the state in the wake of ever rising positive cases in the last few weeks.
An official source said that the emergency meeting will be convened on October 22 at the chief minister’s secretariat.
The chief minister’s office has invited all ministers, members of the State Consultative Committee for COVID-19, Joint Committee of CSOs on Awareness, State COVID Task Force, and officials of the Health department to take part in the scheduled meeting.
Deputy Commissioners Imphal West and Imphal East, the two most affected districts and representatives of the People’s Task Force on COVID-19 will also attend the meeting, the source said.
NNN