Delhiites more circumspect on reopening
People at a Delhi mall after the government allowed further easing of Covid-19 restrictions on Monday. Most marketplaces in the city did not see any crowding on the first day.
Shoppers at Turab Nagar market which reopened on Monday in Ghaziabad (left); an attendant dresses up mannequins at a store in Atta Market in Noida.
NOIDA: It was unlock 2.0 in Gautam Budh Nagar on Monday as curbs imposed in lieu of the partial curfew on April 30 were lifted after 37 days.
Markets, government offices, religious places and public transport were allowed to resume operations.
The relaxations were allowed outside containment zones between 7am and 7pm, while the 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 Monday. Most of the increase in traffic was of vehicles going to Delhi as government offices have reopened there,” he said.
He added that public transport drivers were sensitised regarding the guidelines. “Since Monday was the first day of unlocking, 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 solicited business near Metro stations in the city on Monday. “We have 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 restarted 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 customer 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. The active cases stand at 400. The death toll at 460, with one more fatality in past 24 hours.
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.
Ghaziabad markets see low turnout
Markets in trans-hindon and city areas in Ghaziabad witnessed a low turnout on Monday as the city opened up for the first time since April 30 after the partial curfew was relaxed. The district police said the crowd remained low.
The major markets of the city, including those in Turab Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Vasundhara’s Sector 15, Vaishali’s Sector 4, Indirapuram, and in Sahibabad witnessed lower footfall than usually as majority of shoppers were those who had come for urgent tasks. “I came to get my mobile phone repaired and also took my car to the mechanic. These things had been pending in light of the curfew,” said Lagan Gupta, a resident of Abhay Khand in Indirapuram.
Active cases in Ghaziabad stood at 480 on Monday.
“The curfew went on for over a month, and people could not go out to markets, etc. I went to the market on Monday to purchase daily wear clothes and slippers, and also got some gadgets repaired which were lying defunct. It was a visit only for essential work,” said Seema Malhotra, a visitor at Vaishali Sector 4 market.
“Most people who came to markets were wearing masks and were visiting only for essential things, such as purchases for weddings or getting a haircut, besides others who came to buy daily-wear and daily-use items.
The footfall was also affected due to the weather being on Monday. We have also asked our association members to observe all Covid protocols and request customers to observe the same,” said Pradeep Gupta, convener of the Vyapari Ekta Samiti – Indirapuram in Ghaziabad.
Markets in city areas also saw sparse footfall.
“There was no rush in markets, and this is helpful in a way to maintain social distancing. After having suffered during the second wave, people are still fearful of Covid and are avoiding going out, unless necessary. The footfall at Turab Nagar market was about 30%-40% on Monday, in comparison to normal days. Since the duration of opening markets has increased, there will be less rush now,” said Rajneesh Bansal, chairperson of the Turab Nagar Vyapar Mandal.
“On the first day of reopening, the traders and shop owners also took up cleaning activities for hours before the shops were opened for business,” he added.
During the curfew, the shops of essential commodities were allowed to open up from 7am to 11am only.
Police said checks are being conducted in markets. “We estimate the crowd strength was about 30%-40% or even less on Monday. Our teams conducted checks regularly and there were many who were found not wearing masks and were penalised. We will continue checking for erring persons; night checking will also continue,” said Gyanendra Kumar Singh, superintendent of police (city 2).
The police in May issued 86,249 penalties for not wearing masks while 19,579 were issued in the first six days of June.
The district health department, meanwhile, said that the daily number of new Covid cases has come down. “The number of daily cases has come down and for the past eight days (since May 31) the fresh cases are below 50 every day. Even though the partial Corona curfew has been relaxed, we will continue with about 8,000 tests per day. The testing will be able to detect if the virus is spreading more after relaxations,” said Dr NK Gupta, chief medical officer.
According to the district health department, Ghaziabad had a recovery rate of 98.29% on Monday, with a sample positivity rate at 0.44% so far in the month. The sample positivity rate in May was 7.65% while it was 8.84% in April this year.