Ghaziabad villages regulate entry/exit to fight Covid-19

Khirajpur village — which is about 10km inside from the main Delhi-Meerut Road in Ghaziabad district — has gone into a voluntary lockdown and put in place stringent

Khirajpur village — which is about 10km inside from the main Delhi-Meerut Road in Ghaziabad district — has gone into a voluntary lockdown and put in place stringent rules for its residents, similar to those being observed in containment areas, to contain the spread of Covid-19.

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Khirajpur is not the only village to have put in place stringent measures.

“Ever since the first positive Covid-19 case was reported from Ghaziabad city in March, we disallowed entry of outsiders to our village. We have erected barriers and no outsider is allowed. In case the relative of any resident arrives,they are put up at the primary school on the outskirts of our village and the family or the village committee takes care of their food and other requirements.They are not allowed to enter the village,” said Sartaj Amhad, the pradhan of Khirajpur , which has a population of about 2,400 people.

“Initially 2-3 people had come, but when we told that they will have to stay at the school, they left. It is a norm here that visitors stay at the school instead of the home of their relatives in the village. At the main entrances, we have put up hand wash and sanitizers. locals of the village, mostly farmers, have to manatorily use the handwash/sanitiser after returning from their fields,” he added.

He said that during 2018-19 Swacchta campaign, the villagers had removed large garbage dumps from the open areas and even those spreading over the private land. This has helped them maintain a clean surrounding and reduced seasonal diseases.

At a little distance away lies Sarna village in Muradnagar, which houses a population of about 500 families. The village is located at a distance of 3km from the Delhi-Meerut Road.

“We have also barricaded the main entrance to our village. As a precautionary measure we have also disallowed entry of vendors. Only a handful of vendors who live in villages are tasked to supply fruits and vegetables from the markets. We have also disallowed entry of outsiders or relatives of local people. Announcements regarding the same were made through 65 loud speakers,” said Neeraj Tyagi, the village pradhan.

The chain of loudspeakers has also helped villagers connect to events like Prime Minister’s address on various occasions and his speech is aired live.

“Through the loudspeakers, we make announcements to our residents and have informed them that they should not be asking heir relatives to visit till the lockdown is in place,” he added.

Similar barricading has also been undertaken at Dasna Dehat area, ever since a countrywide lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month to fight the spread of covid-19.

The Dasna Dehat area comprises about 8-10 localities like Bhoorgarhi, Kudiagarhi, Gurjargarhi, Indergarhi, Akash Nagar etc and houses a population of about 70,000.

“Dasna Dehat areas are close to Masuri, which is a hotspot and under intensive lockdown. All the main entrances of the localities have been barricaded with the help of bamboo poles. Banners/posters have also been placed with messages that state that entry of outsiders is prohibited,” said Satish Kumar, who represents his wife Reena Devi, who is the pradhan of Dasna Dehat.

Satish said that any outsiders who arrive to these areas will have to stay at the nearby private college which has a number of rooms.

“We have no other option but to request them to stay at the college. So far people have not come. In case they come we will take care of their food and daily necessities. For observing lockdown, we have also formed a committee of 4-5 members who are tasked to obtain information about any outsiders trying to enter our areas. Vendors from outside are also not allowed in and only identified local ones are selling fruits, vegetables . It is only in emergency cases that people are allowed to move out,” he added.

At present Ghaziabad city has 14 hotspots.  A majority of these are in city areas with only a few l— ike Naipura in Loni, Khatu Shyam Colony in Duhai and Masuri — coming under the rural areas.

“We have heard that many villages have restricted entry of outsiders and have been observing a complete lockdown. It is good that the villagers are taking precaution against the virus. This is in turn a major help for us as we can concentrate more on containment zones and hotspot areas where positive Covid-19 case have been found,” said Dr NK Gupta, chief medical officer of Ghaziabad.