BOONI: Two shops were sealed during checking of markets in Raho Chinar area and its surrounding for violating coronavirus precautions and the smart lockdown.
On direction of Shah Saud, Deputy Commissioner Upper Chitral, Muhammad Riaz Khan, Assistant Commissioner Headquarter Booni, carried out the checking and directed the SHO Booni to register cases against the violators.
Under the coronavirus smart lockdown, shops except medical stores are not allowed to remain open after 4pm.
Meanwhile, police in Yarkhun continued patrolling in different villages after reports that shops were not following the timings.
In Brep, a large number of shopkeepers were fined and some shops sealed for opening beyond the fixed time of 4pm.
One local told ChitralToday he had gone home after closing the shop but came back to take his mobile phone which he had forgot in the shop.
“After taking the mobile as I stepped out to pull down the half-open shutter, police arrived and without listening to me fined me Rs10,000 and sealed the shop,” he alleged.
But some locals said most of the shopkeepers fined had repeatedly violated the lockdown and kept the shops open.
They said strict lockdown was necessary to check the virus from spreading in the area which has so far not reported any case.
But a shopkeeper intervened and said the government was stopping poor people from earning a livelihood and opening its own utility stores and banks for whole day.
“Go to Booni and Mastuj and see utility stores are open from 6am and 8pm and you can also see crowds of people outside banks and bazaars,” he said, adding: “Where is rush here in this village, how many people gather in the small bazaar?”