Ggm border sealed, 1,200 stopped, turned back to Delhi

Residents of the two cities, who have been travelling across the borders daily for work, were asked to stay wherever they were at present.

Hundreds of commuters were stopped and turned back from the Gurugram-Delhi border on Friday after the district administration sealed the border and issued an order stating only people who had been issued restricted movement passes by Central and state governments will be allowed to cross.

More than 200 people on Friday morning parked their vehicles near the barricades and tried to cross the Delhi-Gurugram border by foot but were stopped by the police.

Residents of the two cities, who have been travelling across the borders daily for work, were asked to stay wherever they were at present. All the 11 borders had been closed from 10am on Friday and will remain shut till further orders. The restriction will be reviewed on a periodic basis, said police.

The decision to seal the border completely was taken after a sizeable number of Covid-19 cases reported in Gurugram were traced back to Delhi. Till Friday, 63 Covid-19 cases had been reported in Gurugram.

On Friday, confusion reigned supreme, with more than 1,200 commuters at Sirhaul border being told to return back to the capital despite having permissions from Delhi police to travel, police said .

Commuters were seen crying and requesting police personnel to let them cross the border but to no avail. More than 200 people had parked their vehicles on Friday morning near the barricades and tried to cross the border walking but were not allowed.

Police said they were also monitoring the number of vehicles crossing the border and those that returned. The daily report will be submitted to commissioner of police every evening, said a police officer.

Police officers also said that vehicles ferrying vegetables, fruits, grains, poultry and other eatables, fodder for animals, medicines, medical equipment and raw materials used in manufacturing protective gear, sanitisers and ventilators were being allowed to cross the border. The vehicles can have only one support staff, besides the driver.

However, food delivery boys, lab assistants and other employees were denied entry into Gurugram.

Vansh Khurana, a pet dealer who supplies pet food in Gurugram said he was denied entry despite having all valid permissions. “I used to visit every day as food for pets fall under essential items. But police refused entry to me. I was carrying orders for more than 20 families, but now I will have to return and the clients will have to manage with some substitute,” he said.

The police, however, refuted the allegations and said no individual deliveries will be allowed. Onlytrucks or vehicles with permission can cross the borders. “More than 100 delivery boys carrying food and poultry items were denied entry as they were individuals and were suppling to independent clients, which is no longer allowed. People can buy essential stuff from super marts and groceries stores which are open,” said Goel.

To ensure inter-state and inter-district supply chain is not affected, the movement of vehicles carrying essential and non-essential items will be allowed to cross the national and state highways. However, these vehicles will not be allowed to halt in Gurugram. For movement of any other vehicles, except those exempted, permission has to be sought from the deputy commissioner’s office.

Deputy commissioner of Gurugram, Amit Khatri, on Friday said that he has asked government and private organisations in Gurugram and Delhi to make lodging arrangements for their employees — including essential staff such as health and sanitation workers — to avoid any undue hardships. “We have deployed duty magistrates at all police posts and all the borders, starting Friday,” he said.

Khatri said that rapid antibody testing of suspected cases will also be conducted at the Delhi-Gurugram borders, besides thermal scanning, from Saturday. Drivers and helpers undertaking cross-border movement will have to remain in isolation at dedicated facilities, on their return to Gurugram. Those moving across borders have been asked to install the Aarogya Setu application on their mobile phones for contact tracing and monitoring their locations.

Mohammad Akil, the Gurugram commissioner of police, said all police posts and checkpoints will implement the restrictions strictly. “The monitoring at the borders will be conducted under the supervision of an assistant commissioner of police (ACP) and magistrate under continuous video surveillance,” he said.

Any violation of the restrictions will invite criminal proceedings under relevant sections of Disaster Management Act, 2005, and the Indian Penal Code.

People with restricted movement passes, authorised by officers of Centre or Haryana government, ambulances, vegetable, and milk suppliers, LPG and oil tankers, ATM cash vans and such similar essential goods and services have been exempted from the restrictions.

The district has only allowed essential services and goods as well as some government officials to cross the border. Officers from Union ministry of home affairs, Union finance and defence ministries and those from Department of Post, Disaster Management, National Informatics Centre, FCI have been exempted, said officials.