Long queues at Delhi-Gurugram border as commuters unaware of restrictions

Long queues of vehicles were seen at the Delhi-Gurugram border on Monday as people were not aware of restrictions on movement.

Long queues of vehicles were seen at the Delhi-Gurugram border on Monday as people were not aware of restrictions on movement.

Traffic congestion at the Delhi-Gurugram border near Ambience Mall as Haryana Police screened every commuter before allowing passage into the city, on the first day of Covid-19 lockdown 5.0, in Gurugram, Monday, June 1, 2020.(PTI photo)

“The state government announced yesterday that inter-state travel is allowed, but today they are not allowing us as we do not have any movement pass,” a commuter told ANI.

Sanjay Kapoor, who came from Delhi’s Rohini and was heading to Sohna road said: “Earlier, they were allowing vehicles. Now, police are stopping us. They are saying that people with passes will be allowed.”

Earlier in the morning, vehicles were seen moving freely at the Delhi-Gurugram border without any checks.

A similar situation was seen at the Delhi-Ghaziabad border near Ghazipur but the district administration of Gautam Buddha Nagar decided to seal its border.

Uttar Pradesh Police officials were seen checking check passes and identity cards of people entering the district at the Noida-Delhi border near Delhi’s Mayur Vihar Extension area and at the Delhi Noida Direct Flyway.

As per a report of the Gautam Buddha Nagar health department, ‘source of infection in 42 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in the last 20 days has been tracked to Delhi’.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that the borders of the national capital have been sealed for the next one week and only essential services will be allowed amid a surge in COVID-19 positive cases here.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in its new guidelines on Saturday, which will be applicable after the end of the fourth phase of lockdown on May 31, has said that there shall be no restriction on interstate and intrastate movement.

Also, no separate permission/approval/ e-permit will be required for such movements.

However, if a state or union territory, based on reasons of public health and its assessment of the situation proposes to regulate the movement of persons, it will give wide publicity in advance regarding the restrictions to be placed on such movement and the related procedures to be followed.

(The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text, only the headline has been changed.)