Mumbai: The Bombay High Court’s Aurangabad bench asked the civic body to publicise contact details of shops selling essentials in Aurangabad city so that people can place orders remotely and not crowd at establishments amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A division bench of Justices P B Varale and S D Kulkarni on Tuesday said if orders for essential items are placed through WhatsApp or phone, then shop owners can keep items packed and people will only have to pick them up.
“We suggest that the corporation explore the possibility of publishing WhatsApp numbers of shops selling essential goods in each area.” the court said.
This will help citizens to place orders in advance for grocery and other everyday essentials and prevent crowding at shop fronts, the bench observed.
The court was hearing a petition filed by local shop owner Muzaffaruddin Khan, challenging an order passed by the Divisional Commissioner of Aurangabad on May 15 stating that all shops, except pharmacies, were directed to be shut for five days.
The petitioner claimed that the closure of shops for five days would result in losses for shop owners and also inconvenience the public.
Opposing the plea, the civic authorities said the decision for closure of shops was taken considering the rise in COVID-19 cases in Aurangabad.
While initially shops selling essentials were allowed to operate till 2 pm, it was later decided to observe a complete lockdown for five days starting May 15, the authorities argued.
They further informed the court that on May 19 another order was issued according to which shops selling essentials were allowed to operate from 7 am to 2 pm.
The court disposed of the plea after the petitioner said he did not wish to pursue the matter further.