Night curfew starts at short notice, essential services allowed

The Haryana government on Monday evening imposed a night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am, prohibiting the movement of people not involved in essential services

The Haryana government on Monday evening imposed a night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am, prohibiting the movement of people not involved in essential services. The curfew was notified less than two hours before it came into effect, even as Gurugram recorded more than 1,000 new Covid-19 infections for a second consecutive day.

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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 9 pm to 5 am 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.”

During a spot check of the situation, the police were seen shutting bars and pubs in hubs such as MG Road, Sector 29 and also ensuring closure of liquor vends and tobacco stores across the city.

However, exemptions have been given to those responsible for maintaining law and order, people in emergencies and those involved in municipal services and duties, including executive magistrates, police personnel, military and Central Armed Police Force (CAPF). Also, staff involved in essential services, such as health, electricity, fire department, and media persons will be exempt from the restrictions, on the production of an identity card. Those having night curfew pass will also be exempt, said officials.

As per the order, hospitals, chemist shops and ATMs will be allowed to remain open through the night, while pregnant women and patients going for medical services have also been exempted.

The order stated that there will no curbs on interstate and intrastate movements of essential and non-essential goods. Also, passengers going to or returning from the airport, railway stations or interstate bus terminals will be exempt from the night curfew.

Those violating orders were warned of action under sections 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code.

Gurugram, which has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the state, recorded as many as 1132 new cases on Monday, breaching the 1000-mark for the second consecutive day.

Residents and traders were dismayed as the order came into effect on Monday, saying it affected their plans, even as the chief minister assured three days ago that such restrictions will not be enforced in the city.

Last Friday, the CM said that district administrations across the state have been told to ensure safeguards, such as wearing masks, social distancing, check on public and social gatherings and sanitisation of public spaces is done on priority and continuously. “Vaccinations and testing are also going on smoothly and it will be further expanded,” he said on Friday.

Ramesh Chand, a shopkeeper on Sohna Road, said that the night curfew will impact him adversely in financial terms. He said the order was too sudden and he had home deliveries lined up after 9 pm, as people return from their offices around that time. “We will again have to face a financial crunch as they have announced night curfew from 9 pm and this may be in advance of a complete lockdown. People will again start planning to return to their home towns and we have already stocked up groceries for the next few months and paid advances, which is a major concern,” he said.

Lalit Ahlawat, director of Soi Hospitality in CyberHub, said that such as order was expected as Delhi and other states have already imposed the curfew. However, he said that less than two hours of notice was insufficient. “We will abide by the government orders, but we should have been given a day’s notice at least to plan our operations. The cases are rising and even we are concerned for the health of our staff,” he said.

The order will also impact restaurant owners, who might have to apply for special passes for their staff.

Raghav Baweja, owner of Big Wong at Cross Point Mall in DLF-4, said that they will close their operations for dine-in at 9 pm, but will continue food deliveries. “Now, we might have to take passes for our staff who will be returning home after 9 pm. Also, delivery persons would need passes, as allowed in Delhi and Noida,” he said.

The police officials said that all possible measures will be taken to ensure enforcement of the night curfew.

Karan Goel, the assistant commissioner of police (DLF), said, “Teams from all the police stations have been deployed and asked to keep a check in their areas. Travel of essential goods will not be affected but commercial establishments will not be allowed to run their operations. We are yet to take a call on passes and emergency movement will be allowed.”

With increasing Covid-19 cases across the Delhi-NCR region, night curfew was imposed till April 30 in the national capital on April 7. Following Delhi, night curfew was also imposed a day later in Noida and Ghaziabad, till April 17.

With the latest spike in daily infections, the number of active cases in the Gurugram district reached 6,177 on Monday. However, no Covid-related deaths were reported on Monday, while 504 patients recovered on the day, taking the total recoveries to 64,727.