In photos: Panic buying in some TN cities after state announces ‘intense lockdown’ from Sunday
Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore will be completely shut for four days, and Salem and Tirupur for three days.

There were scenes of panic buying in some cities of Tamil Nadu on Saturday after the government announced that it would impose an “intense lockdown” in certain areas due to the rising number of coronavirus cases, NDTV reported.
On Friday, the government had announced that Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore would be completely shut for four days, starting at 6 am on April 26 to 9 pm on April 29. The cities of Salem and Tirupur will also be shut for three days. During this period, standalone grocery stores and other shops such as bakeries will be closed, the government said according to News18.
The Edappadi Palaniswami-led government had on Friday said that grocery shops would be open only till 3 pm on Saturday. But when panic buying began, the state government modified its order, decreeing that shops will be open to sell only vegetables, all through the intense lockdown period.
Extremely essential services such as medical shops, hospitals and ATMs will be open, the government said.
“Though the spread of the disease has come under control in rural areas, the chances of it spreading in cities is high…during the [review] meeting it was clear that only if the restrictions are made more stringent, the spread of the disease can be brought under control in cities,” Palaniswami had said in a statement on Friday, according to The News Minute.
In other cities of Tamil Nadu, the lockdown will operate with the relaxations allowed by the Centre. On Friday, the Centre exempted all shops in residential areas and market complexes in rural areas from the lockdown guidelines. However, the exemptions will not apply to the shops in malls, alcohol shops and shops in coronavirus hotspots and containment zones.
However, on Saturday, people ignored social distancing norms, gathering in crowds at markets in the cities to be put under intense lockdown. Social media was full of photographs of people indulging in panic buying.
Here are some scenes from Chennai on Saturday:
Long queue on the both side of a vegetable shop in #Chennai ahead of total #lockdown. Every single shop in Chennai is crowded. #COVID pic.twitter.com/JbGJIof6qM
— Mugilan Chandrakumar (@Mugilan__C) April 25, 2020
Scenes in & around the Thiruvanmiyur vegetable, provisions market
— Kaushik LM (@LMKMovieManiac) April 25, 2020
Stocks drying up fast as the public have been on a buying spree since this mrng#panicbuying pic.twitter.com/RVTkYKCy0s
Massive, long crowd at this #Aavin shop, Thiruvanmiyur
— Kaushik LM (@LMKMovieManiac) April 25, 2020
Major panic-mode stocking up of vegetables & provisions going on amidst the public pic.twitter.com/eLvKpxfLeU
A scene at the Thiruvanmiyur ECR Market in Chennai on Saturday before the "complete lockdown".
— D Suresh Kumar (@dsureshkumar) April 25, 2020
Photo: M. Karunakaran / The Hindu#Corona pic.twitter.com/gd52kbRq76
And scenes from Coimbatore and Madurai:
Last minute panic buying at #Coimbatore RS Puram Uzahavar sandhai vegetable market. #Lockdown21 #Social_Distancing ?! pic.twitter.com/H4vJoBWOeV
— Sanjeevee sadagopan (@sanjusadagopan) April 25, 2020
For those who like data & analysis to base their views, please read @hariiyengaar's whole thread. It will help you set realistic expectations for the coming days
— Dr P Thiaga Rajan (PTR) (@ptrmadurai) April 25, 2020
Of course the spectacular failures of Madurai (24th), and Chennai & all Metros today, will WORSEN the estimates😨 https://t.co/iRWJry5BOA pic.twitter.com/YfVPum8atO
Just see how the progress we’ve made is getting undone! These are today morning visuals from Chennai’s Koyembedu market. The Tamil Nadu Govt has announced four days of complete shutdown starting 26th April, and it led to panic buying ! #chennai #TamilNadu Video by @Ahmedshabbir20 pic.twitter.com/AQbRRXHt1m
— Megha Prasad (@MeghaSPrasad) April 25, 2020
Last minute panic buying at Triplicane market ...#TamilNadu #Covid19 #CoronaVirusIndia #TNLockdown https://t.co/rOoo0eSNkM
— tamilnaadulive (@tamilnaadulive) April 25, 2020
Tamil Nadu has so far reported 1,683 cases of Covid-19, including 20 deaths, according to the Union MInistry of Health and Family Welfare. As many as 400 infections have been found in Chennai.