Except two exemptions, curbs to stay for a week
NEW DELHI: Except for construction activities and manufacturing units in approved industrial areas, which have been permitted to resume from Monday, the ongoing lockdown in Delhi will continue as it is for at least another week, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) said in an order issued on Saturday.
“The owners of manufacturing production units (and) the owners, contractors, employers of construction activities shall be responsible for ensuring strict compliance of all the directives. Only asymptomatic workers and employees will be allowed at the workplace. Staggering of work/business hours will be followed at the workplace in order to ensure proper social distancing between workers, adequate gaps between shifts, staggering the lunch breaks of staff etc,” the order, issued by additional chief secretary Satya Gopal, said.
A senior state government official clarified that for the general public, the lockdown in Delhi will continue as it is for another week.
Also, manufacturing or production units will be allowed within closed premises only in approved industrial areas and construction activities will be permitted within work sites. To be sure, any industrial unit operating outside an approved industrial area in Delhi is considered illegal. The Capital has 29 approved industrial areas, including in Bawana, Narela and Patparganj.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced that the construction sector and factories can resume operations from Monday.
The DDMA in its order mandated that all workers and employees maintain Covid-19 appropriate behaviour at the workplace. These include wearing masks, maintaining social distance, no spitting in public places and no consumption of tobacco products or liquor.
Workers will be also need to have an e-pass, which can be obtained by the owners, employers or contractors, by submitting an online application with details of employees on the Delhi government website.
The government has also directed all district magistrates (DMS) to ensure random Rt-pcr/rapid antigen tests at the manufacturing and production units, and at construction sites, on a regular basis.
All DMS and their counterpart district DCPS shall deploy special teams for regular inspection of these manufacturing/production units as well as construction sites for ensuring effective compliance of Covid appropriate behaviour by all workers/employees, read the order.
“Existing e-passes for those engaged in essential services will continue to be valid throughout the lockdown. Moreover, the police have been asked to ensure effective checking of movement of people and vehicles by putting an adequate number of pickets with the objective to prevent unnecessary movement of people on roads during the curfew. DMS,
DCPS and the MCDS have been asked to strictly check Covid appropriate behaviour in all mandis, ISBTS, railway platforms/stations, slum areas as well as at all shops providing essential goods and services during the curfew,” said the order.
“It should be ensured that the people who visit these places strictly follow Covid appropriate behaviour. No shops (of non-essential commodities or services) or weekly markets should function illegally within the jurisdiction of the respective DM,” the order said.