Night curfew in Gurugram, traders lament short notice
An order released on Monday evening by the Haryana State Disaster Management Authority stated, “…there shall be prohibition on movement of individuals for all non-essential activities between 9pm to 5am in the state of Haryana.
The Haryana government on Monday evening imposed a night curfew from 9pm to 5am, prohibiting the movement of people not involved in essential services. The curfew, notified less than two hours before it came into effect, was announced at a time when Gurugram recorded more than 1,000 new Covid infections for a second consecutive day.
An order released on Monday evening by the Haryana State Disaster Management Authority stated, “…there shall be prohibition on movement of individuals for all non-essential activities between 9pm to 5am in the state of Haryana. No person shall leave their homes or shall move on foot or by vehicle or travel or stand or roam around on any road or public places during the above said hours. The night curfew will remain in force till further orders.”
Virendra Yadav, the chief medical officer of Gurugram, said, “This trend of increasing cases will continue in the coming days, but we cannot say for sure till when. We have increased testing at all possible fronts, at private and government facilities as well as cluster-based testing for surveillance. Further, night curfew has also been imposed by the state government to curb the spread of Covid-19.”
As per the order, hospitals, chemist shops and ATMs will be allowed to remain open through the night, and pregnant women and patients going for medical services will be allowed to move throughout the night.
Residents and traders said they were dismayed by the order since the chief minister had assured just three days ago that such restrictions will not be enforced in the city.
Ramesh Chand, a shopkeeper on Sohna Road, said that the sudden order to impose night curfew will hit his business.
Lalit Ahlawat, director of Soi Hospitality in CyberHub, said that an order was expected as Delhi and other states hasd already imposed curfews. However, he said that less than two hours’ notice was insufficient. “We will abide by the government order, but we should have been given a day’s notice to plan our operations,” he said.
The police said that all possible measures will be taken to ensure enforcement of the night curfew. Karan Goel, assistant commissioner of police (DLF), said, “Teams from all the police stations have been asked to keep a check in their areas. Transport of essential goods will not be affected but commercial establishments will not be allowed to run their operations."