Chaos ensues at Delhi-Gurugram border as Haryana seals entry
Hundreds of commuters were seen stuck at the Delhi-Gurugram border on Friday morning as the Haryana government blocked entry from the national capital in a late-Thursday order. The border witnessed massive traffic congestion as many office-goers and commercial vehicles, unaware of the order, attempted to cross over into Gurugram. The border was sealed due to rising coronavirus infections in Delhi. Here are more details.
According to The Times of India, on Friday morning, the Gurugram Police blocked all entry and exit points at Delhi-Gurugram borders on National Highway-8, Chakkarpur border on Mehrauli-Gurugram (MG) Road, old Delhi Road at Kapashera and other routes connected to Delhi. The police said only essential services and movement pass holders will be allowed as per Home Ministry's guidelines and Delhi High Court's orders.
Reportedly, the police placed barricades along the border at around 8 am on Friday, and commuters have started lining up since. Only one lane allowed traffic to pass at the border for essential services. Many commuters told TOI that they were not aware that the border had been sealed. Even the police did not seem to have clarity about the guidelines, the report added.
A DLF Phase-3 police station official said, "We have sealed the border but allowing essential services vehicles to go through. Thorough checking of any person coming from Delhi is applied here. The idea is to prevent cross border traveling to minimize the spread of coronavirus."
Late-Thursday, the Haryana government decided to seal its borders with Delhi owing to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the national capital. This is the second time the state has taken such a decision. Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij told reporters on Thursday, "80% of COVID-19 cases in Haryana are located in districts adjoining Delhi."
On Friday, Delhi reported 1,106 new COVID-19 cases, taking its tally to 17,387 with 398 deaths. With this, the city has recorded its biggest spike for the third consecutive day. Haryana, on the other hand, has reported 1,535 cases with 19 deaths Across India, 1,65,799 cases have been reported which includes 4,706 deaths, 89,987 active cases, and 71,105 recoveries.
