Now, no travel pass to cross Delhi-Haryana border

Chandigarh, June 1

No travel pass is required to cross the Delhi-Haryana border from Monday, the Haryana government has announced.

"The traffic movement is completely smooth between Gurugram and Delhi, and Faridabad and Delhi and so is elsewhere," a senior police official told IANS here.

The Delhi-Haryana border was opened as per the Central government guidelines and no pass would be required, he added.

Massive traffic jams were witnessed on the borders of Haryana and the national capital on Friday as the former restricted the entry of motorists, except essential service providers and e-movement pass holders, owing to a spike in the coronavirus cases.

Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij had blamed Delhi for a spike in patients owing to free movement of people.

He said the cases reported in Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonepat and Jhajjar districts that are located in the National Capital Region had been spiking despite certain restrictions.

Meanwhile, the Haryana government on Sunday decided to extend the lockdown in the containment zones till June 30.

It was also decided to open the restricted areas in a phased manner in accordance with the provisions of the National Disaster Management Act and guidelines issued by the District Magistrate and the departments concerned.

These decisions were taken at a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar with senior officers here.

It was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala and Home Minister Anil Vij.

It was decided in the meeting that the District Magistrates could impose restrictions in the areas in their jurisdiction under Section 144 of the CrPC on movement of individuals from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., except for essential services.

It was decided that there will be no restriction on interstate and interdistrict movement of persons and goods.

In addition, the shops will remain open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

It was decided that sports activities could begin from 5 a.m. as against the earlier decision of 7 a.m.

However, wearing of mask is compulsory in the public places, workplaces and during transportation.

Also, the individuals must maintain a minimum distance of six feet in public places. Shopkeepers will ensure physical distancing among customers and will not allow more than five persons at one time.

Besides, large public gatherings or congregations continue to remain prohibited. In marriage related gatherings, the number of guests will not exceed 50 and while performing last rites, the number of people will not exceed 20.

The government has decided to allow the functioning of offices with 100 per cent attendance of Group A and B officers and 75 per cent attendance of Group C and D employees.

Interstate and intrastate buses will ply along with the taxis and cabs in accordance with the standard operating procedures.

Delhi borders witness traffic congestion as curbs ease

Heavy vehicular traffic was witnessed on Monday at the Delhi-Gurugram and Delhi-Noida borders as commuters came out in large numbers on the first day of the Unlock-1.

On Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) way, that connects south Delhi with Noida, heavy traffic was witnessed in the morning.

The vehicular queues went up to over a kilometre as the police deployed at the border checked the passes and the identity cards of the people travelling.

The Delhi Police asked the people to return, those who did not have the passes issued from the authorities.

Even the motorcyclists were asked to turn back. 

The traffic in the national capital also witnessed a surge as a number of vehicles were seen on the streets in areas like Jhandewalan, ITO etc.

Similar, scenes were witnessed at the Delhi-Gurugram and Delhi-Ghaziabad borders.

Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram have already sealed their borders with the national capital as the number of the Covid-19 cases saw a spike, with majority of the cases linked to those travelling to Delhi. 

On Saturday, the Centre took an exit step from the 68-day nationwide lockdown, declaring that the restrictions will be limited only to containment zones up to June 30 and that the prohibited activities will be opened in a phased manner in areas outside these zones, allowing restaurants, malls, religious places and education sectors to open in a phased manner.

Applicable from Monday, June 1, the fresh order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) spoke of the expanded fresh guidelines a day ahead of the end of lockdown 4.0.

As per the order, international air travel, operation of Metro Rail, cinema halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, assembly halls, and political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural and religious functions, and other large congregations will remain prohibited. 

IANS

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