Ghaziabad administration restricts travel to Delhi between 9am and 6pm for government employees

In order to further restrict the movement of commuters between Ghaziabad and Delhi, the Ghaziabad district magistrate on Sunday issued an advisory to all employees

In order to further restrict the movement of commuters between Ghaziabad and Delhi, the Ghaziabad district magistrate on Sunday issued an advisory to all employees of Central government and Delhi government offices in the capital . The advisory stated that such commuters will have to leave Ghaziabad maximum by 9am and travel back home after 6pm, when their duty hours end.

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“The advisory has been issued in order to enforce lockdown norms. There has been movement of commuters who travel between Delhi and Ghaziabad throughout the day. We are required to depute police officials for round-the-clock checks. Therefore, we have issued the advisory for such commuters to restrict their travel timings,” said Ajay Shankar Pandey, Ghaziabad district magistrate.

Apart from the travel advisory, it has also been decided that officers of deputy secretary and above ranks, travelling between Ghaziabad and Delhi, will only be required to show their ID cards in order to cross the borders.

The officials said that only 33% of the officers and staff have been allowed to attend Delhi government and Central government offices but some of them who fall under the Class-3 and Class-4 category of employees continue to commute between Ghaizabad and Delhi throughout the day on the basis of temporary ID cards.

“Such employees should be issued passes by their respective offices and these could be availed on a daily or a weekly basis. Such staff members will not be allowed to move between Delhi and Ghaziabad only on the basis of their ID cards. We have issued the advisory letter to Delhi officials and the Delhi police to help them take necessary steps,” Pandey added.

He added that mediapersons will be allowed commute only on the basis of valid ID cards.

In a decision taken earlier on April 20, the district magistrate under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, had prohibited any travel between Ghaziabad and Delhi, except for those involved in essential services or having valid passes.

The decision was taken on the basis of a report submitted by the health department, which said that about six Covid-19 positive cases have emerged after people had travelled to Delhi.

After the directions, the Ghaziabad-Delhi borders were sealed and more police deployment was put in place. According to the officials, this led to a reduction in the traffic volume by about 40%.