19 September,2020 07:38 AM IST | Mumbai | Prajakta Kasale, Ashish Raje
The LBS Market wore a deserted look following the shut down by BMC. Pic/Ashish Raje
The Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) market at Matunga, popular for South Indian traditional items, has been closed by the BMC after 18 COVID-19 cases were reported at the antigen test camp. The market will be sanitised every day and if all goes well, it may reopen again on Monday. Moreover, the civic body will now make antigen tests mandatory at Gandhi Market in King's Circle.
LBS Market near Matunga Central Railway station has around 150 shops. On Friday, there was absolute silence outside the market, which is otherwise a crowded place. Many workers were sitting idle on the roads, chatting with each other with no idea when the market would reopen. The BMC had conducted antigen tests in the market on Wednesday and tested 98 people including shopkeepers and workers. Out of these, 18 were found positive. "We have admitted the symptomatic patients to hospitals and told asymptomatic ones to home quarantine," said Gajanan Bellale, assistant commissioner of F North ward.
The ward has another market - Gandhi Market, which is also a popular destination and crowded place. The F North ward office carried out antigen tests there five days ago. But only a few shopkeepers turned up for testing and eight of them were found positive. "We didn't get much response earlier. But now after LBS market, we will take strict action in Gandhi market," said Bellale.
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