A citizenship law protest in Delhi’s Nizamuddin was on Sunday called off, in the wake of the rising cases of coronavirus across the country and Delhi’s government’s decision to put the city in lockdown earlier in the day. News agency ANI reported that the organisers will now continue their protest through the use of social media.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had in the evening announced a sweeping lockdown in the National Capital from midnight till March 31, in a bid to disrupt the cycle of community transmission, a feared stage of a disease when it is transmitted within the community. While Kejriwal reassured the Delhi public that the city was yet to enter the community transmission stage, which comes before the outbreak becomes a full-blown pandemic, he also expressed concern that utmost caution must be exercised to avoid such an eventuality.
While shutters have come down on the protest at Nizamuddin, the demonstration against the Citizenship Amendment Act continues at Shaheen Bagh, which has inspired several protests across the nation. Repeated pleas by authorities to protest organisers at Shaheen Bagh have failed to move the protestors, despite health experts warning that site could be ticking bomb for the spread of the virus. In fact, news agency IANS reported on Saturday that one of the protestors at Shaheen Bagh had even tested positive for coronavirus.
In their defence, protestors at Shaheen Bagh have said they will significantly tone down their protest. Reportedly, protestors at Shaheen Bagh have reorganised themselves in groups of two to three people, each sitting under a different tent.
As of Sunday evening, three hundred and sixty cases of coronavirus were reported from the country, resulting in seven deaths.
Also read: Coronavirus crisis: Delhi to go into lockdown from 6 AM tomorrow; public transport suspended
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