Delhi-Gurugram border jammed after Haryana bans entry from capital over Covid-19

Hundreds of commuters were stuck on the Delhi-Gurugram border after it was sealed around 9.40am on Friday, a day after Haryana home minister Anil Vij issued fresh orders to restrict the entry of people due to a sudden rise in the number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in the state.

Police said all the 11 points that connect Gurugram and Delhi have been sealed and entry will be allowed on the basis of passes issued by the district administration.

Muhammad Akil, Gurugram’s police commissioner, said that except for the categories exempted by Delhi High Court and the Centre, the inter-state borders for others would remain completely sealed.

Akil said they received fresh orders on Friday morning after which barricades were placed at the border again and checking was initiated.

Watch: Chaos on the roads as Haryana seals border with Delhi again

“The volume of traffic has increased manifold on all the borders and we have placed barricades and deployed additional force, including senior officers, to control law and order situation,” he said.

The borders had been completely sealed on May 1 but the police had stopped checking for passes at the border last week after traffic congestion was witnessed during the peak rush hours.

After reports of fresh orders to seal, hundreds of commuters started crossing the border early morning on Friday leading to congestion on the expressway.

On Friday, commuters who had resumed work last week and were easily crossing borders were suddenly sent back from the border.

Dinesh Kapoor, the vice president of a private company in Cybercity, said he packed his bag on Thursday night after news regarding the sealing of borders started surfacing on social media. Kapoor added that he crossed before the border was sealed.

Nikita Mehra, a senior executive of a private company in Udyog Vihar, said the situation has become tough for people who are commuting from Delhi to Gurugram.

“I will not be allowed to return to Delhi if I have to work here. It’s difficult to make arrangements to stay in Gurugram. Our jobs are at stake,” she said.

Private offices were allowed to open with 50% staff after the fourth phase of the lockdown began on May 18.

However, a steep rise in the number of Sars-Cov-2 infections, which causes Covid-19 disease, prompted the Haryana government to increase curbs at the border now.

Anil Vij, who also has the health portfolio, on Thursday wrote a letter to the additional chief secretary, home department stating that sharp increase in the Covid-19 cases in Haryana was happening due to large scale movement of people between Delhi and the state.

“Most of the cases reported in Gurugram are linked to Delhi and it is not safe to allow free movement which can lead to more cases,” Vij said on Friday morning.

Gurugram reported 68 positive cases on Thursday — the highest single-day spike so far — taking the number of cases in the district to 405. Gurugram has the highest number of cases in Haryana, which has recorded 1504 cases.