Delhi govt favours allowing people's movement to and from UP, Haryana

As the country eases out of the lockdown in a phased manner, the Delhi govt is in favour of allowing movement of people to and from cities of UP and Haryana that are under the national capital region (NCR), although authorities in UP and Haryana have strengthened restrictions on borders with the national capital citing a spike in COVID-19 cases.

New Delhi: The Delhi government is in favour of allowing movement of people from Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and other cities of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana under the national capital region (NCR) as the nation exits the lockdown in a phased manner, an official said on Sunday.

The official said the Delhi government has not opposed movement of people from these cities and it is the authorities in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana who have firmed up restrictions on borders with the national capital citing spike in COVID-19 cases.

While announcing 'Unlock-1' to be effectuated from June 8, the Union Home Ministry said that there shall be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods and no additional permission required for such travels.

It, however, said that if a state or Union Territory, based on reasons of public health and its assessment of the situation, proposes to regulate movement of persons, it will give wide publicity in advance regarding the restrictions to be placed on such movement, and the related procedures to be followed.

"The Delhi government is in favour of allowing interstate movement of people from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. It mostly depends on authorities in Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon to allow the same," the official said.

A senior government official in the East Delhi district administration said, "There are lakhs of people from Noida and Greater Noida, who come to Delhi for works and vice versa. If authorities in Noida and Greater Noida agree to hold a meeting to start inter-state movement, a final decision can be taken."

On Friday, tightening of traffic restrictions by Gurgaon and Ghaziabad administrations on their borders with Delhi to contain the spread of coronavirus had led to chaos and vehicular congestion.

The Noida-Delhi border was sealed on April 21 with officials saying the decision was taken as several of the COVID-19 cases in Gautam Buddh Nagar were linked to Delhi.

On Sunday, the national capital recorded its highest single-day spike of 1,295 COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 19,844, as the death toll due to the disease mounted to 473. The previous daily highest spike of 1,163 cases was recorded on on Saturday.

PTI