Chaos, traffic jams at Delhi borders
Amid lockdown orders in various states, there was confusion, chaos and traffic jams at Ghazipur on Uttar Pradesh-Delhi border and the GurgaonDelhi border on Monday, leading to delay in the entry of “essential” vehicles and people responsible for emergency services in the national capital. The day also witnessed police personnel struggling to prevent those who were unnecessarily attempting to cross the border.
While police personnel were allowing doctors, police personnel, medical and sanitary staff and journalists to cross borders, people who were not able to convince them regarding their urgency were prohibited from entering Delhi.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal made a fervent appeal to people to observe the lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus. He also warned that strict action would be taken against the violators Tuesday onwards.
At a press conference, Mr Kejriwal said total of 29 cases reported in Delhi, six were locally transmitted from one person to another while the rest contracted it abroad.
All through the day on
■ Continued from Page 1 Monday one could see DTC buses, which operated only 25 per cent of its fleet, crowded with passengers tasked with the job of carrying out essential services travelling to their respective destinations. Mr Kejriwal announced that the number of DTC buses would be increased to 50 per cent from Tuesday to ensure safe and smooth travel of all these “essential” passengers.
Elsewhere, most business establishments and shops, except for dairies, grocery stores, chemists, petrol pumps and ATMs, remained shut.
In view of the coronavirus threat, the Delhi high court and all district courts suspended their functioning till April 4. Matters of extreme urgency will have to be mentioned before the registrar or joint registrar telephonically and hearing will take place through video conferencing. The decision, taken by an eight-judge committee headed by Chief Justice D.N. Patel, was communicated in a notification issued by the high court’s registrar general.
Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) shut down nearly two-third of its dispensing outlets in Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad as most vehicles went off the roads. Indraprastha Gas Ltd will be running only 55 compressed natural gas (CNG) refilling outlets in Delhi-NCR during the Covid-19-related lockdown.
A statement from IGL said, “A total of 55 CNG stations of IGL shall be in operation during the period of lockdown from March 23, 2020, till March 31, 2020, for public fuelling in these areas, primarily to meet the requirements of emergency vehicles and essential service vehicles.”
IGL has about 150 CNG stations in Delhi-NCR. These are in addition to those that are operational in petrol pumps.