There was a huge traffic jam on the main highway between Delhi and Ghaziabad on Tuesday, a day after Ghaziabad District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey decided to block any movement across the state border, NDTV reported. The order was issued after six people who travelled from Delhi tested positive for the coronavirus.
The traffic jam continued for several hours on Tuesday morning after the interstate border was sealed, and did not ease as the day progressed. “Traffic Alert: Traffic movement is slow in the carriageway from Ghazipur to Ghaziabad due to tight checking of commuters at Border by UP Police,” the Delhi Police said.
Emergency-use vehicles and those providing essential services were allowed to proceed. However, doctors were among those stuck, along with other individuals like bankers and transport sector labourers, Hindustan Times reported. Several ambulances carrying patients were also stuck at the border.
“I was headed home to Raj Nagar Extension in Ghaziabad after night duty from my hospital,” a doctor from a Delhi hospital earmarked as a Covid-19 facility told the newspaper. “I was stuck up at UP Gate border as the cops did not allow entry. From 8.30 am to 11 am, I was stuck like hundreds of other people in their vehicles.” The doctor said the police did not allow him to enter Uttar Pradesh even after he showed them his duty pass and his ID card.
He said that finally, he was allowed to enter Ghaziabad after his contacts spoke with the police officers, a process that took three hours. “I have more duties lined up on Wednesday and don’t know whether I will be able to attend these or not,” the doctor said.
But the Ghaziabad Police claimed that people engaged in providing essential services were allowed to proceed. “There may be some minor hiccups but those attached to essential services are not being stopped,” Indirapuram Circle Officer Anshu Jain said. “We have also deployed the Provincial Armed Constabulary apart from civil police to maintain strict checks.”
The Delhi-Ghaziabad highway is used by thousands of commuters on a daily basis. People travel to and from UP Gate, Anand Vihar, Kaushambi and Loni border areas.
Delhi has so far reported 2,081 cases of the coronavirus, including 47 deaths, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Uttar Pradesh, on the other hand, has 1,184 Covid-19 cases and 18 deaths.
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