Heavy traffic jam after Ghaziabad seals border with Delhi over surge in coronavirus cases
The police stopped vehicles to check for e-passes before allowing commuters to travel, leading to slow vehicular movement.
Scores of commuters were stuck in a traffic jam on Tuesday at the Delhi-Ghaziabad border after the Uttar Pradesh administration sealed its border in view of the rising coronavirus cases, the Hindustan Times reported. This is the second time that Ghaziabad has sealed its borders with Delhi since April.
In an order issued on Monday, the administration said only essential services will be allowed to move across the two cities after showing identity cards. The police stopped vehicles to check for e-passes before allowing others to travel, leading to slow vehicular movement.
“There were jams at the border as we conducted checks in compliance of the order by the district magistrate,” Indirapuram Circle Officer Anshu Jain told the newspaper. “We have opened the UP-Gate and Anand Vihar-Kaushambi border for commuters but they are allowed passage to Delhi only on the basis of passes issued by the administration.”
Jain said people involved in exempted categories were allowed to travel through the flyover at UP gate. “Below the flyover, we are trying to create separate lanes for different categories of commuters. The plan will be put in place after discussions,” she added.
Jaivir Singh, a commuter from Vaishali in Ghaziabad, said he was not allowed to enter Delhi without a pass. “I reached the border but was sent back as the cops said that I need to get a valid pass to go to Delhi,” Singh, who works with the municipal corporation of Delhi, said. “The Delhi government has opened offices and the Ghaziabad cops did not allow entry through my official identification card. So, I came back after waiting for about an hour. There was no point in waiting at the border in the scorching summer heat.”
In April, Ghaziabad sealed its border with Delhi for the first time, after six people who came from the national Capital tested positive for Covid-19. Later, the Delhi-Noida border was also sealed. Earlier this month, the Ghaziabad administration said an order asking medical staff to stay in Delhi if their work involves travelling to the national Capital was not a compulsory one.
Delhi is one of the worst-affected cities in India. As of Tuesday morning, the national Capital reported 14,053 coronavirus cases, including 276 deaths, according to the figures from the Union Health Ministry.