Former India cricket captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly shared photos of empty Kolkata roads following national lockdown to fight coronavirus outbreak
BCCI President and former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday said the empty roads in his home city Kolkata, owing to a nationwide lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, are the kind of scenes he never thought he would witness in his lifetime.
"Never thought would see my city like this .. stay safe .. this will change soon for the better ...love and affection to all...," Ganguly posted on his Twitter page alongside images of deserted roads.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to more than 16,000 deaths globally. In India, the number of positive cases has come close to 500 and nine people have died.
The pandemic has forced postponement or cancellation of almost every sports event in the country.
People stayed indoors while police personnel hauled up those on the streets as a complete lockdown began in large parts of West Bengal, including the whole of Kolkata and eight districts continued to combat the spread of novel coronavirus infection.
The lockdown, christened 'complete safety restrictions', covers all municipal and district towns besides some rural areas in other parts of the state and started from 5 p.m. on Monday. The lockdown is set to continue till Friday midnight.
On Tuesday, two more persons were detected coronavirus positive in West Bengal, taking the count of such cases in the eastern state to nine. So far, one of the patients in the state has succumbed to the disease.
Ganguly had earlier said that he can't recall when he was last free at 5 pm in the evening.
"Amids all the coronavirus scare .. happy to sit in the lounge at 5pm .. free... can't remember when I did last .." Ganguly had said in an Instagram post with a selfie.
The BCCI has asked its employees to work from home in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic which has so far had 511 cases with 10 deaths.
(With agency inputs)