Noida border to remain sealed, Gurugram to open

GURUGRAM/NOIDA: Haryana will restore normal traffic at its borders with Delhi from Monday after keeping entries to its NCR cities like Gurugram and Faridabad under stringent regulations and allowing access only through passes for a month.
Haryana’s decision is in step with central guidelines for the fifth phase of the lockdown that allow free interstate movement.But while traffic to Gurugram will become smooth, the gridlock at Delhi’s two other busy borders with UP — at Noida and Ghaziabad — will remain.
The administrations of both NCR districts in UP decided on Sunday not to remove the border ‘sealing’ and only essential service professionals with valid I-cards and passes will be allowed.
Free pass from Delhi as Haryana lifts restrictions
The Noida administration’s argument was that it had found 42% of recent Covid-19 cases linked to Delhi and so it needs to keep the border checks in place.
“The health department carried out an exhaustive review on Sunday. We learnt that over the past 20 days, 42% of those who were found to have Covid had contracted the infection in Delhi. So, in public interest, we have decided not to allow movement of people across the border, except for those who have valid reasons. The situation would be reviewed after a few over the past four days. Sunday’s 97 took the tally in just four days to above 400. The view that emerged at the meeting, after hours of deliberations, was that it was not feasible to keep the borders under such checks, especially with industries and offices opening up in Gurugram .
“There was extensive discussion about the rising number of cases in Gurugram at the meeting,” a senior officer present at the meeting told TOI. “However, a decision was taken by the CM that the Delhi-Haryana border needs to be opened as keeping it closed will not be possible anymore. There will be free movement of people and goods between the Delhi andGurugramand nobody will need any passes,” the officer added.
The government has, however, empowered deputy commissioners to ‘seal’ the borders again if the situation demands so. Gurugram DC Amit Khatri told TOI that while the formal order was awaited, the Delhi-Gurugram border will open up Monday onwards.
Haryana also decided to lift restrictions in containment zones. It decided to allow all shops, including those in containment zones, to open from Monday to Saturday from 9am to 7pm, but not more than 5 people are allowed in a shop at a time. days and the Covid response team of Noida will take a call accordingly,” said Suhas LY, Noida’s district magistrate.
The decision to open up the Haryana-Delhi borders was taken at a meeting in Chandigarh at chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s residence on Sunday evening. Apart from the CM, deputy CM Dushyant Chautala, the state’s home minster Anil Vij and several senior officials, including the chief secretary, were present.
Orders to seal the borders were issued twice by Vij in May, the second one just last week. But even after a month of regulated movement, cases in Gurugram have seen a sudden surge