Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar districts among 16 in UP to face lockdown till March 25

Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad are among the Uttar Pradesh districts that have been placed under a lockdown till March 25 in view of the coronavirus outbreak.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday evening ordered a lockdown of Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad districts, besides 14 other districts in the state, from March 23 to 25. The other districts facing a lockdown are Agra, Lucknow, Moradabad, Varanasi, Lakhimpur Khiri, Bareilly, Azamgarh, Kanpur, Meerut, Aligarh, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Pilibhit and Saharanpur.

A deserted NH-9 on Sunday, March 22, 2020. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

“The districts under the Phase-1 of lockdown will be cleaned and sanitised. Police patrolling will continue in these districts. We appeal to the people not to move out to public places and also to perform their religious duties at home. The lockdown will be from March 23 till March 25 and a review will be taken up on March 23,” CM Adityanath said.

The lockdown was announced after the cabinet secretary and the principal secretary to the prime minister held a meeting with chief secretaries of all states. The state governments were advised to allow only essential services to operate in 75 districts, where Covid-19 cases or casualties have been confirmed. The state governments were told to increase the list as required.

People across the state stayed indoors on Sunday, in view of the Janta Curfew call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, from 7am to 9pm. The UP CM had advised people not to move out after 9pm.

“We are waiting for the detailed order from the state government and the list of measures that will be taken during the lockdown,” said BN Singh, district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar.

Ghaziabad district magistrate, Ajay Shankar Pandey, could not be reached despite repeated attempts.

Ghaziabad’s senior superintendent of police (SSP) Kalanidhi Naithai, said on Sunday evening, “The store owners who deal in essential commodities like milk, vegetables, ration, grocery, medical supplies, etc, should open their shops. In case anyone tells them to shut their shops, they should immediately contact the police on 9454403434.”

Public transportation is also set to be affected with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announced the suspension of all Metro services until March 31.

A spokesperson for DMRC said that all the estimated 290-odd trains will be at the depots, where regular cleaning and sanitisation will take place. At present, about 62 lakh passengers use the DMRC network every day.

The Noida police, following the lockdown announcement, shut Noida’s borders with Delhi and Ghaziabad. However, ambulances and vehicles ferrying essential commodities were exempted from the enforcement.

“The movement of public from Noida to Delhi and other neighbouring places has been restricted, but the essential services will continue,” Shriparna Gongulee, additional commissioner of police (Noida), said.

The CM also announced that UP State Road Transportation Corporation’s interstate buses and buses to Nepal have been suspended. “During the lockdown period, UPSRTC bus services will be suspended and interstate connectivity will be shut. People should avoid public gatherings, as a small lapse can result in problems. There will be continuous patrolling by police. About 3,000 four-wheelers and about 1500 two-wheelers will be deployed to help people with various issues, including getting essential supplies. We will ensure that all PRV112 will stand for helping people,” Adityanath added.

He said that about 2,200 vehicles of the 108 (ambulance) helpline, 2,270 vehicles of the 102 (ambulance) helpline and another 250 advanced life support-ambulances are in deployment to ferry people to hospitals.