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Ghaziabad residents decry Delhi’s decision to seal borders, but their health dept welcomes it
On Monday, it was Delhi’s turn to shut its borders with Ghaziabad, something that Ghaziabad had done a long time ago in the name of containing the spread of the
On Monday, it was Delhi’s turn to shut its borders with Ghaziabad, something that Ghaziabad had done a long time ago in the name of containing the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The result is that now, people cannot enter Delhi from Ghaziabad nor vice versa.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s decision to seal Delhi borders for the next one week has sparked sharp criticism from Ghaziabad residents, but the district’s health department officials were more receptive of the decision -- they believe it will reduce number of Covid-19 cases in Ghaziabad, as many of these cases, reported over the past one month, had links to Delhi.
Kejriwal on Monday said for the next one week, only the essential services will be allowed to enter the national capital. The district shares a border with Delhi at UP Gate, Kaushambi-Anand Vihar, Seemapuri and Loni.
The Ghaziabad district has already sealed all its borders with Delhi since April 20 and imposed more restrictions on May 25, attributing a surge in Covid-19 cases in the district to Delhi. Kejriwal’s decision to seal borders came after Delhi reported over 1,000 Covid-19 cases for the fourth day in a row on Sunday.
“As per our estimates, over 100 of 319 cases reported in Ghaziabad (from March 5 to May 31) are of people who had travelled to Delhi for various purposes, including for treatment at Delhi hospitals. The decision to seal Delhi’s borders will surely bring down the number of such cases in Ghaziabad and we will be reviewing the situation closely,” Dr NK Gupta, chief medical officer, Ghaziabad, said.
On May 20, the Uttar Pradesh government had categorised urban areas of Ghaziabad district as Red zones in the wake of a spike in cases.
As on Monday, the tally of Covid-19 cases in the district stood at 331, with 12 additions. According to officials, the first case was reported on March 5 and the figure slowly climbed to 50 by April 22 -- within a span of 48 days. The next 50 cases were reported by May 5 -- within a span of just 13 days.
In another 10 days, on May 15, Ghaziabad had 150 cases and a mere six days later, on May 21, it crossed the 200-mark. The next 100 cases, district officials said, were reported in just 10 days as the district crossed the 300-mark on May 31.
“During past three or four days, the daily cases have seen a spike. We expect this trend to keep going in the month of June. A majority of cases nowadays are related to people travelling to Delhi or taking up treatment in Delhi hospitals. Their close contacts have also contracted the infection. So, sealing the border is a positive action in terms of regulating cross-border travel,” Dr Gupta said.
“Areas such as Khoda, Loni and Vaishali, which are close to the Delhi border, have witnessed a major surge in cases. All three localities have been sealed to contain the spread of the coronavirus infection,” he said.
Ghaziabad residents are unhappy with Delhi’s decision. “It is a late decision. It should have been taken up in the initial stages when people attending religious congregations fanned out from Delhi. It seems that we the people of NCR are being experimented upon. If one week of sealing fails, what will be the further course of action?” colonel (retired) TP Tyagi, president of the flat owners’ federation, said.
Other residents said a complete sealing of borders will jeopardise thousands of people who commute between two cities for work.
“Both Delhi and Ghaziabad authorities are trying to bring down cases by sealing the borders. Ghaziabad did it earlier and Delhi is doing it now. It seems that there is hardly any coordination between the two governments despite Ghaziabad being part of the NCR. My employees living in Delhi had started coming our office in Vaishali after relaxations in lockdown norms. Now, they won’t be able to. It is the common man who is going to suffer,” Mohit Sharma, resident of Vaishali and an environment & energy consultant, said.
