Factory owners directed to seek passes for movement of workers

The Haryana government directed all industries to apply for passes, to facilitate the movement of their workers at night during the curfew hours, with the Saral Haryana portal, as per an order on exemptions

The Haryana government directed all industries to apply for passes, to facilitate the movement of their workers at night during the curfew hours, with the Saral Haryana portal, as per an order on exemptions.

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Officials of the district administration said that employees of industrial units are being allowed to move at night on the basis of their identity cards and that the passes must be secured within a week.

Yash Garg, deputy commissioner, Gurugram, said, “This (permissions based on ID cards) is purely a temporary measure to avoid any halt in production of essential goods and services, and to prevent labour unrest. All permitted establishments and industries are further directed to get their passes issued within next seven days.”

The state government ordered a night curfew in the state on Monday, with restrictions on public movement between 10pm and 5am, to curb the spread of Covid-19 infections.

JN Mangla, president, Gurgaon Industrial Association, said that although the government has asked the industry to register with the Saral Haryana portal, they have asked the district administration to consider identity cards as passes. “It will be difficult to secure passes for each worker. So, it would be easier if the identity cards are considered for movement,” said Mangla.

Large industries in Manesar, on the other hand, said that they have tweaked their shift timings to ensure that workers in the evening shift reach home by 10pm, while those working the night shift reach the premises before 9pm. “It is difficult to get passes and seek permissions. Most of us have, instead, changed shift timings. The authorities should have discussed the matter with industry and given few days before imposing night curfew,” said Manmohan Gaind, a factory owner and the vice-president of the Manesar Industries Welfare Association.

Under the exemptions, the government has allowed the movement of passengers from airports, railway stations and interstate bus terminals (ISBTs) during curfew hours.

Also, personnel of police and paramilitary engaged in maintaining law and order, and those engaged in municipal, health, electricity and other essential services are exempted from restrictions. There shall also be no curbs on manufacture and movement of essential goods, as well as on the interstate and intrastate movement of non-essential goods, the order stated.

There are also no curbs on the movement of healthcare and medical staff of private and government establishments, as well on the operation of hospitals, clinics and pharma shops, as per the order.

Among other services to be exempted from the curbs were telecom, IT and ITes sectors, delivery of essentials such as food, pharmaceutical and similar items, operation of petrol pumps, and power generation and distribution services.

The government also directed the deputy commissioners to appoint incident commanders to enforce these guidelines in their respective jurisdictions.