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Coronavirus blockade: mass traffic jams reported in Delhi, Noida and Mumbai
New Delhi:
Massive traffic jams were reported from parts of Delhi, Mumbai, and Noida on Wednesday morning, with thousands of buses, cars, and two-wheelers returning to the roads days after the government eased the coronavirus blockade guidelines this week.
Videos emerged of the traffic in the Andheri neighborhoods of Mumbai, ITO and Yamuna Bridge in Delhi and the Delhi-Gurgaon, Delhi-Noida borders, with meandering queues of vehicles creeping slowly as a reminder of pre-blockade life in the metropolitan cities.
Similar scenes were witnessed at the Delhi-Noida border, including the Kalindi Kunj Bridge connecting the two cities, on Monday when there was confusion over whether vehicular traffic was allowed to cross Uttar Pradesh.
The Home Office eased movement restrictions, starting Monday, for public and private vehicle traffic, and included interstate travel with the mutual consent of the union states / territories involved, except for those locations in containment areas .
However, the district administration in Noida of Uttar Pradesh blocked non-essential traffic from entering, and the UP government left the final decision to district officials.
Vehicles related to essential goods and services remain exempt, and the center directs states to ensure they pass unimpeded.
Lockdown 4, which the government previously said would seek to project “normality on the ground,” has given union states and territories autonomy in color-coded coronavirus zones, and thus to decide what it is and what is not allowed in each one.
According to the broad guidelines of the center, taxis (including app-based aggregators like Ola and Uber) and private cars can circulate with a maximum of two passengers and a driver, while two-wheelers can be used without a passenger.
Coronavirus blockade: reported traffic jams in major cities as COVID-19 restrictions eased
Carpooling and carpooling are prohibited.
In areas designated as “green,” public buses can run at 50 percent of their capacity.
Most vehicular traffic in containment areas is still prohibited, and only essential services and goods are allowed to operate.
On Tuesday, Delhi Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a series of relaxations and said: “We cannot have a permanent closure.” Delhi, which has reported more than 10,000 COVID-19 cases so far, has allowed vehicle traffic in accordance with the center’s guidelines.
Coronavirus blockade: the Kalindi Kunj bridge connecting Delhi and Noida saw massive traffic
The national capital has also limited non-essential traffic to between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., which also conforms to downtown guidelines.
In Mumbai, which is the most affected subway in the country with more than 20,000 cases, none of the relaxations announced by the center will apply, Prime Minister Uddhav Thackeray said.
There are multiple containment areas in the populous city, widely considered to be the country’s financial capital. Earlier this week, Mumbai police warned city residents that nonessential vehicular traffic, or traveling in vehicles without a permit, would invite “strict measures.”
Across the country, states have announced a similar reduction in vehicle traffic restrictions, as India appears to be back to normal after a viral outbreak that has infected more than 1 lakh of people and killed more than 3,000.
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