Guwahati: The iconic Beltola daily and bi-weekly market in Guwahati, one of the city's buzziest attractions, has been closed down by the Kamrup (Metro) administration to discourage large gatherings in the area.
"In view of the large gathering of people, non-maintenance of Covid-19 protocols including non-maintenance of social distancing and also in view of the increasing number of Covid-19 positive cases in Guwahati city, the Beltola daily and bi-weekly market is declared closed with immediate effect", read a notice issued from the Deputy Commissioner's office and undersigned by the Additional Deputy Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the District Disaster Management Authority.
The order has the approval of the Deputy Commissioner and the Chairman of the district's Disaster Management Authority and will remain in force until further orders.
It needs mention here that the Beltola Bazar in the central part of Beltola is a traditional bi-weekly fruits and vegetable market with historic importance. The market has been continuing since the historic past and is an important traditional trading point between the people from the Khasi Hills in Meghalaya and the local people.
On Thursdays and Sundays, people from far off places bring their wares to this market to be sold to the local populace who step out of their houses with great gusto on these afore-mentioned days, hoping to strike a profitable bargain.
Because of the market's prime location, it has become a spot of great gatherings and is thronged by thousands of shoppers from dawn till dusk.
Thus, because of its natural propensity to draw huge crowds, the market has been marked as a volatile area by the Kamrup (M) administration at a time when areas in 11 wards of Guwahati city have been put under lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Meanwhile, with 88 more cases reported in the morning today, Assam's Covid-19 tally has risen to 6,370, out of which 2,400 of the cases are 'active'.