‘Relaxation hours inconvenient’, morning, evening walkers in Chandigarh seek change
While senior citizens in the city want an extension in earlier hours due to summer, youngsters want evening hours extended due to office timings
The guidelines on lockdown 4.0 released by the ministry of home affairs on Sunday, prohibiting movement of individuals between 7 pm and 7 am, has not gone down well with regular walkers in Chandigarh. With the summer turning on the heat day by day, they want a change in timings of relaxation hours.
Many senior citizens claim they wake up early and 7 am is too late for a walk. Brigadier Keshav Chandra (retd) , founding member and former president of Chandigarh senior citizens association, suggested morning timings be revised to coincide with sunrise timings. “Retired army officers still wake up at ‘first light’ which is 30 minutes before sunrise. We used to attend a morning yoga class before the Covid-19 epidemic. The morning timing should be revised to coincide with sunrise which is around 5.30 am till June,” he said.
President of senior citizens council of Sector 38, Major (retd) DP Singh said, “It is harmful for seniors to be walking outside after 7 am. Shifting the time to 6am or even 5am will be of great relief. The senior citizen bodies will ensure that seniors maintain social distancing and follow all safety norms.”
A regular at Sukhna Lake for his evening walk, advocate Ajay Jagga now walks in Sectors 18 and 21 parks in the morning. He said, “I see the governments logic in keeping relaxation hours limited. Preventing the spread of Covid is our priority. However, frankly speaking, more relaxation would be nice. The sun is too bright now and even if relaxation is extended to 6 am it would be a relief.”
Several youngsters are asking for more relaxation in evening hours so they can go for a workout in parks after sunset, which happens around 7.10 pm these days. An employee with an e-commerce firm, Chirag Puri, said, “Youngsters are working from home and work up till 6.30 pm. They don’t have the chance to step out before 7 pm. We urge the administration to consider at least a 30-minute extension of relaxation period.”
Meanwhile the police continues to register cases under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code against those found outdoors during the night curfew hours. Police have booked more 213 morning and evening walkers since March 24, when the curfew was declared in the city.