In Pune's Pimpri Chinchwad, 84 shop owners face action for defying closure order amid coronavirus outbreak

Pune: At least 84 shop owners in Maharashtra’s Pimpri Chinchwad twin township faced action on Thursday for defying the collector’s orders to keep their establishments closed because of the coronavirus outbreak. [caption id=“attachment_8141231” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] While the Pune city has eight cases of COVID-19, the neighbouring Pimpri Chinchwad area has reported 11 cases, the highest in Maharashtra. Action under IPC section 188 (defying public servant’s duly promulgated orders) was mostly taken against shops which fell in the non-essential category such as paan kiosks, tea stalls, electronic shops and restaurants with dining facilities, the police said. As per the Pune district collector’s order, shops and other establishments which do not come under the essential services category shall remain closed till further notice, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Sudhir Hiremath. Meanwhile, a day after Collector Naval Kishore Ram issued orders asking IT and private companies to implement ‘work from home’ policy, police officials in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad inspected offices of Information Technology firms to ensure that the order was being followed. Hiremath said the police understood the technical difficulties the companies face. Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak “Several firms can not ask all their employees to work from home as there are technical, security and other issues. But we have asked them to keep minimal staff at offices to make sure the social distancing is maintained,” he said. Ram said in a press briefing on Thursday that 50 percent employees of IT firms and private companies are working from home. “I had a meeting with the IT and private companies, and they have given an assurance that they will raise the number to 70 percent,” he said.