North East observes Janata Curfew with the rest of India

PTI
After 'huge success' of Janata Curfew in Assam, police asks people to stay indoors till 8 am while streets remained empty, shops shut in Tripura. On the other hand, Churches were closed and people stayed indoors in near-total shutdown in Meghalaya while markets were shut and thin attendance in Churches as people stayed at home in Nagaland. Meanwhile, towns in Sikkim wore a deserted look and trains were cancelled, markets were shut as people in Arunachal Pradesh joined the curfew.
Guwahati, Mar 22: The Assam Police thanked people for making the "Janata Curfew" a "huge success", and urged them to remain indoors for a few hours more - till 8 am on Monday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged people to remain indoors during the 'Janata Curfew' between 7 am and 9 pm on Sunday to check the spread of novel coronavirus.
"We request you to stay indoors till 8 am tomorrow. Pls don't move out, until extremely necessary. Let's do this in the interest of public health & safety," Assam Police said in its official twitter handle.
"We thank the people of Assam for making the #JantaCurfew a huge success, it's but a start in our fight against #CoronaVirus," it said.
Assam wore a deserted look on Sunday with markets shut and vehicles off the roads as people stayed indoors in response to Modi's "Janata Curfew" call.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal also thanked people and asked them not to come out of their homes to make the exercise a 100 per cent success.
"Glad to see peoples' spontaneous support across Assam to the call of #JantaCurfew to prevent spread of #COVID19. Together let's fight against this pandemic," Sonowal said in a tweet.
In an earlier tweet, he had said he will stay at home joining the "Janta Curfew", and warned people that the coronavirus chain would not break even if a few ventures out.
The 14-hour voluntary curfew began at 7 am, but most of the people did not come out since Saturday night.
The Prime Minister's appeal of the voluntary self- quarantine exempted essential services, but several pharmacies too pulled down their shutters in the State.
In Guwahati, people stayed indoors and all markets and commercial establishments were shut.
The districts also witnessed a similar picture with empty national highways and closed markets as people largely remained inside their homes.
A few two-wheelers and private cars were seen on the roads in the morning, primarily out to collect essential items such as milk and bread.
The State breathed a sigh of relief with the second test of the sample of a four-and-a-half-year-old girl turning out to be negative, hours after she tested positive.
Over 1.72 lakh people were screened across Assam till March 21 in wake of the pandemic, the Health and Family Welfare Department said.
In its daily bulletin, the department said that 26,094 passengers were screened at the six airports in the State.
While 7,181 travellers were screened at the three land ports -- Darranga (Baksa), Mankachar (South Salmara) and Sutarkandi (Karimganj), 1,38,919 people were screened at other places such as rail stations and bus stands.
Agartala: Streets of Agartala and other parts of Tripura wore a deserted look on Sunday as people largely remained indoors in response to the 'Janata Curfew' call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, amid a spurt in Covid-19 cases in the country.
Almost all shops, eateries and market places, barring pharmacies and those selling essential items, remained closed in the State, official sources said.
The usually busy Kaman chowmuhani (four-point crossing) and its adjacent areas in the city remained empty throughout the day, with just a handful of people seen travelling to work.
Only a few buses and autos were seen plying in the streets since morning, the sources said.
Donning masks and gloves, policemen and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) personnel were patrolled various parts of the capital town, asking people to return to homes unless absolutely necessary.
The Northeast Frontier Railway has cancelled all mail and express trains to and from Tripura.
The State has not reported any Covid-19 case so far.
As a precautionary measure, the BJP Government in the State has ordered the closure of a host of public places, including restaurants, bars, nightclubs, amusement parks, massage parlours, museums and zoos, till March 31.
Aizawl: Along with rest of the country, Mizoram on Sunday observed a 14- hour nationwide Janta Curfew, a call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, amid a spurt in COVID-19 cases in the country.
The Mizoram Government also on Saturday night ordered a week-long partial lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Janata Curfew, which coincided with the partial lockdown on Sunday, was total as people across the State stayed indoors, police said.
Only a few officials, policemen and media persons were on duty, they said.
All streets in the cities and towns across the State wore a deserted look as vehicle stayed off the road and Churches suspended their Sunday services, a police officer said.
All shops remained closed since 7 am.
Officials of local bodies across the state also asked people to support Janata Curfew by staying at home, the police officer said.
The partial lockdown was also imposed in the state from Sunday.
The state government on Saturday night advised people not to venture outside except those on medical duty, essential service, media and persons dealing in essential commodities.
All business shops, shopping malls and markets barring pharmacies and those selling essential commodities will remain closed, the Government order said.
The Government also sealed all international and interstate borders except for those transporting essential commodities.
All public transport and private vehicles, including two-wheelers, were told not to ply during the week-long partial lockdown.
However, ambulance, fire and emergency services, vehicles used for law and order duty, medical duty, and vehicles for journalists were exempted from the ban.
The order said that the partial lockdown may be extended as per the necessity of the situation.
Meanwhile, GoAir has suspended its operation following the partial lockdown in the state till further notice. Officials said that other airlines are yet to intimate about suspending flights.
Shillong: Meghalaya witnessed a near total shut down on Sunday as markets remained closed and vehicles off the roads following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Janata Curfew' call in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
People stayed indoors since Friday night amid the 24- hour lockdown ordered by the State Government on Saturday.
The Janta Curfew is almost total in Meghalaya. Markets are closed and business establishments are cooperating. Vehicles are also not plying. Even the Churches are closed today, a senior home department official told PTI.
In the state capital, the shutdown is total, he said, adding that there was minimal traffic on the roads and the highways as everyone chose to stay home.
The COVID-19 response teams are tracking down every single person with a history of travelling outside the state in the past two weeks, even as almost every foreign national and tourist is mapped and put on 14 days of self-quarantine, the official said.
At least 3,000 students and professionals who returned to their hometowns in the state have been tracked and asked to go on home-quarantine, he said.
Meghalaya is yet to report any case of COVID-19. The Shillong-based North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences has been notified as the testing node for the states in the region.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said his government has taken several measures to ensure identifying those coming back to the state.
He urged medical volunteers to come forward and register themselves with the respective deputy commissioners as the state geared itself in preparation for any emerging situation.
Kohima: Nagaland on Sunday joined the rest of the country in observing Janata Curfew, a call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, amid a spurt in COVID-19 cases in the country.
People chose to stay indoors and vehicles remained off the roads as a preventive measure, while shops and eateries, except medical stores, were shut.
The Sunday devotional service in many churches also witnessed thin attendance.
Some Churches even remained closed, while few major churches delivered messages through social media sites.
Nagaland government had made it clear that Sundays curfew will be voluntary and not being enforced by the government. With the state government appealing the citizens to show solidarity in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in consonance with Prime Minister Narendra Modis call for Janta Curfew, the roads, especially in the state capital, Kohima and commercial hub Dimapur wore a deserted look.
The state government on Saturday enforced closing down of all crowded market places which do not have the scope of maintaining social distance till further orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The Nagaland Joint Christian Forum is also observing Sunday as a 'Day of Prayer' for the people infected in various countries and for the leaders to have the wisdom to take measures to curb the spread of the virus.
Gangtok: All major towns in Sikkim wore a deserted look on Sunday as people stayed indoors following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call of observing 'Janata curfew' in the wake of the deadly coronavirus.
Vehicles remained largely off the roads in Gangtok, Deorali, Tadong, Rangpo, Mangan, Namchi and Jorethang, except those on emergency services.
Shops and other business establishments, barring a few pharmacies and petrol pumps, too remained shut across the state as people joined the voluntary 14-hour curfew that began at 7 am.
Authorities in all the four districts have issued orders, directing the people to remain indoors on Sunday, except in case of emergency. Chief Secretary S C Gupta directed the local authorities to take all measures for the enforcement of the 'Janata Curfew' in a bid to contain the pandemic.
Itanagar: Shops and eateries were closed, and vehicles remained off the roads as people in Arunachal Pradesh joined the nationwide 'Janata Curfew' in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
State capital Itanagar wore a deserted look as all the usually-busy arterial roads remained empty with people choosing to stay indoors.
A few police and media vehicles were seen in the city, besides those of the essential services.
Markets and standalone stores in the city and the districts remained shut, barring a few pharmacies, in response to the 14-hour voluntary curfew that began at 7 am.
The Capital Police, except those on essential duties, have joined the curfew, superintendent of police Tumme Amo said.
The North East Frontier Railway has also cancelled the Naharlagun-Guwahati Donyi Polo Intercity Express for the day, officials said.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu, who extended support to the Janata Curfew initiative, has urged people to stay indoors and take precautions in the wake of the pandemic.
The state government has already shut down the weekly markets and cinema halls, besides suspending the issue of Inner Line Permits to people coming from other states and Protected Area Permits to foreign tourists.