Chaos at borders as Chandigarh comes back to life after 41 days
CURFEW ENDS UT administration changes office hours to 10.30am-4.30pm, asks Punjab, Haryana govts to follow suit in order to prevent clash in timings
CHANDIGARH : As chaos ruled at Chandigarh’s borders and some people entered the city without screening after the 41-day curfew to prevent Covid-19 transmission was lifted on Monday, the UT administration requested the Punjab and Haryana governments to change their office timings.
The administration also decided to change its own office timings with UT administrator VPS Badnore announcing a new 10.30am to 4.30pm schedule from Tuesday after his daily meeting to review the situation.
This, Badnore hoped, would reduce the rush of employees travelling to different offices of Punjab, Haryana and the central government at the same time.
UT adviser Manoj Kumar Parida has also written to the chief secretaries of Punjab and Haryana on Monday asking for a timing change to help prevent clash of timings with “each other and Central government offices and help in avoiding congestion on roads”.
LONG VEHICLE QUEUES, PEOPLE SKIP SCREENING
About 3,298 vehicles with 3,759 persons were screened at the border by Chandigarh Police and 513 vehicles (ferrying 947 persons) were not allowed to enter due to lack of ID cards and curfew passes.
Long vehicle queues formed at Chandigarh’s main entry points in the morning as police screening slowed things, but many entered the city unchecked because of the heavy traffic buildup. Restrictions on number of passengers in two- and fourwheelers were also violated with impunity and 107 two-wheelers and 12 four-wheelers were challaned for carrying more people than specified to maintain social distancing.
Because of the rush police personnel could not screen everyone with thermal scanners. “Today, the flow of vehicles increased tremendously and people were getting impatient when asked to wait. It put us under pressure at the checkpoints. So, some vehicles drove by without screening,” said a policeman on duty near the Zirakpur-Chandigarh barrier, requesting anonymity.
Similar problems were reported at the Panchkula-Chandigarh housing board light point.
Even as rules allowed one person to drive a two-wheeler, 107 were penalised for talking along pillion riders. The 12 four-wheelers challaned carried more than the three people allowed.
MOVEMENT PASSES
UT’s request to the Mohali administration to issue movement passes for Mohali residents coming to Chandigarh for work has also been approved. People running businesses, shops etc coming from Mohali to Chandigarh will now be issued passes for 10 am to 6 pm by the Mohali administration. Government officials will be allowed to travel between the two cities on the basis of their official ID cards.
The UT will also take up the issue with the Panchkula administration on Tuesday.
In Panchkula, the police managed to keep a strict vigil at checkpoints, only letting in people with passes issued by the district administration after announcements were made on Friday of very stringent screening processes and sealing of entry points.
“We have strict orders not to allow anyone from Chandigarh into Panchkula without a pass. Everyone will go through medical screening. Those without a pass will be sent back,” said a police official on duty at the housing board point. Meanwhile, Panchkula residents coming to the UT had to stay back because of non-issuance of passes by the Panchkula administration.
SHOPS TO STICK WITH ODD-EVEN FORMULA
UT officials on Monday also discussed opening up all shops, but decided to stick with the odd-even formula for the time being. “These are dynamic situations which we will constantly review any improvements. For now we will persist with the odd-even formula for opening of shops,” Parida said. Stationery shops and liquor vends that opened today drew large crowds too.