Weekend lockdown: Noida borders see smooth flow of traffic

With the weekend lockdown in force, the Noida police on Saturday conducted thorough checking at the borders to regulate the movement of people. However, the flow

With the weekend lockdown in force, the Noida police on Saturday conducted thorough checking at the borders to regulate the movement of people. However, the flow of traffic at the city borders was smooth, the police said.

HT Image

Police officials have said that only the movement of people involved in essential services will be allowed, along with those holding valid passes, while no new passes will be issued during the two-day lockdown.

“Traffic movement was smooth today. The volume was less due to it being a weekend, and only essential services people were allowed to pass through. Those who didn’t have the necessary documents were asked to return. With three lanes open at DND, the traffic was managed properly,” said Sankalp Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Zone 1.

Commuters, too, said that there was less traffic on Saturday morning.

“It seemed better than most days. There was checking of our papers, but it took us only a few minutes to pass through DND compared to half-an-hour it takes normally,” said Bulbul Singh, a resident of Sector 75 who works in Delhi.

On Saturday, the Noida police registered 18 cases of violation and arrested 62 people, while a total of 1,950 vehicles were checked. Of these vehicles, 973 were challaned, while four were seized, the police officials said, adding that Rs 40,650 was collected in fines. The police are checking 200 barricaded points across the city.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday had announced for the weekend lockdown starting from Friday night till Monday morning owing to the surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in the state.

Under the guidelines, movement of people will be restricted both within and out of the district. While industries will continue operations, markets will remain shut.

“We are monitoring the situation. There is increased police patrolling since Friday night. Our teams will stay on alert and we will continue challaning people for violations as has been happening since the lockdown began in March,” said the DCP.

Police personnel also used drone cameras across Gautam Budh Nagar district to maintain vigil and will continue doing so on Sunday as well, the officials said.

GB Nagar’s borders with Delhi have been closed since April and the district has maintained its status quo despite relaxations in the lockdown guidelines, the officials said. Traffic snarls, specially during peak hours, have been a concern for daily commuters for the past two-and-a-half months.

Nearly 10,000 people had been booked in the district for various violations under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) during the nationwide lockdown.