Noida unlocks after 37 days

Noida: It was unlock 2

Noida: It was unlock 2.0 in Gautam Budh Nagar on Monday as curbs imposed in lieu of the partial Corona curfew were lifted after a gap of 37 days. Markets, government offices, religious places and public transport were allowed to resume operations.

HT Image

The relaxations have come into place outside containment zones between 7am and 7pm, while weekend as well as night curfews will continue to be in place.

According to Ganesh Saha, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), there was a 30% increase in traffic in the district compared to earlier.

“Even when the partial curfew was in place over the last month, there was no restriction on movement of vehicles during the day, hence there has only been a 30% increase in traffic on the road on Monday. Most of the increase in traffic was of vehicles going to Delhi as government offices have reopened,” he said.

He added that public transport drivers were sensitised regarding the guidelines. “Since it was the first day on Monday, traffic police sensitised and raised awareness among auto-rickshaw and e-rickshaw drivers regarding social distancing guidelines,” said Saha.

Lal Babu, an auto-rickshaw driver in Noida and union leader of the Noida Auto Rickshaw Chalak Association, said auto drivers hoped for business near Metro stations in the city on Monday. “We have anyway been running with social distancing guidelines and do not take more than two passengers aboard. On Monday morning, there was a slight improvement in our daily earnings as Delhi Metro’s Blue and Pink lines re-started and there were a number of passengers who required transportation to go towards the Sector 15 area, where some government offices are located,” he said.

Meanwhile, shop owners said that while shops opened up after more than a month, there was no uptick in sales. “Barely any customers visited the market on Monday. However, shop owners are hoping that by next week, sales will increase as auspicious dates for weddings are closing in,” said SK Jain, president of the Sector 18 Market Association.

While most industries and factories were operational during the last one month of the corona curfew, Vishard Gautam, president of the Indian Industries Association, said that manufacturing units of domestic appliances such as refregerators, washing machines, etc., and light electronics such as computers, televisions, etc., had been shut as their operations only run when the markets are open.

“Such factories started functioning from Monday but most of them are experiencing issues with labour resources, since a majority of the workers returned to their hometowns when the partial corona curfew was imposed. Now, factory owners have called them and they will be back by Friday only, after which operations will commence in full force,” he said.

On the other hand, district magistrate Suhas LY said that as active cases in the district have gone down to 400, the curfew will remain suspended between 7am and 7pm. “The first day of the unlocking went on smoothly. Our enforcement teams have ensured that Covid protocols and guidelines issued by the administration are followed,” he said.

The district on Monday reported 34 new cases of Covid-19 and discharged 216 people in the last 24 hours. The active cases in the district stand at 400. The death toll in the district is at 460, with one more fatality in the past 24 hours.

As per a statement from the state government, Uttar Pradesh recorded its test positivity rate at lower than 0.3% on Monday. The TPR has been below 1% for more than two weeks in a row.