In Dundahera outbreak zone, commuters flout rules at will

The district administration’s plan of intensive Covid-19 testing along with strict curbs on movement of people in eight large outbreak regions (LORs) of the city

The district administration’s plan of intensive Covid-19 testing along with strict curbs on movement of people in eight large outbreak regions (LORs) of the city for 15 days, seems to have fallen flat in Dundahera.

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The enforcement of guidelines in Dundahera, one of the eight large outbreak areas, remained lax on Thursday with locals trespassing barricades in certain designated lanes in the area. Shops remained open and people continued to move freely with little care for the norms in place.

According to a list issued by the district administration last week, four areas — Udyog Vihar police station road, Aggarwal Sweets lane, community centre street, Vishal Mega Mart street — in Dundahera ward number 4, had been listed among the large outbreak regions. Padav Chowk was also among the list of areas where police deployment was suggested. Over 90 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Dundahera since the outbreak of the pandemic.

On Thursday, at the community centre street, no barricading was found with some residents claiming that commuters had removed the barricading on Tuesday itself, the day it was put up, to facilitate movement of vehicles. In the lane adjacent to Vishal Mega Mart, several shops selling utensils remained open, with people often spotted jumping over the barricades, which had been partially removed. People trespassed the bamboo obstacles in the lane next to Aggarwal sweets as well. Locals said that some of these lanes had been barricaded from one side only, leaving the other entry/exit point open for movement. Apart from the check point outside Udyog Vihar police station, the barricading and fortification using bamboo poles, remained inadequate, allowing people to easily pass. Four policemen from Udyog Vihar police station had been deputed at Padav Chowk and near the community centre street.

Subhash Yadav, a native of Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, had come for house hunting near Padav Chowk. “I have moved here recently for a job and I am looking for a room on rent. I was not aware that this area has reported several cases of Covid-19 and that all activity had been restricted here for the next two weeks. I was not subjected to any screening before entering the area,” yadav said.

Narender Tiwari, a private company security guard, said, “The police have been making rounds but commuters barely seem to care for the rules. They remove barricades at will if they have to pass through.”

A policeman from Udyog Vihar police station, requesting anonymity, said, “We had after consultations suggested five points in Dundahera where barricading could be done as part of the large outbreak region containment strategy. Some of the barricading has been inadequate and we are sensitising people in the area to not venture out while testing is being conducted.”

Jitender Gahlawat, assistant commissioner of police, Udyog Vihar, said, “We are conducting regular patrolling in the areas. If any laxity is observed, we will conduct a mapping exercise and depute additional staff to enforce the guidelines.”

As per the government order issued last week, a large outbreak is defined as a localised increase in Covid-19 cases within a defined geographical area in a village, a town or a city. The cases may or may not be epidemiologically linked. For operational purposes, a large outbreak is deemed to be present when there are 15 or more cases.

Despite several attempts, Ashok Sangwan, divisional commissioner, could not be reached for a comment.