Delhi Police enhances patrol, puts barricades as weekend curfew unrolls

New Delhi: The Delhi Police intensified patrolling, raised barricades and warned people of legal action to check violation of weekend curfew imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus even as rain and biting cold made most Delhiites stay indoors on Saturday.

The curfew started at 10 pm on Friday and will remain in force till Monday 5 am. Overnight rain continued till first half of the day due to which roads were mostly deserted in the city.

There were some complaints regarding issuance of e-passes during the curfew and the National Restaurant Association of India said it might be compelled to shut down home delivery due to the problem.

"Dear @CMODelhi, request your intervention in resolving e-pass problems for F&B industry. We aren't getting them, leading to severe harassment. We will be compelled to shut down delivery as well if this isn't resolved right away," the NRAI tweeted, following which Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal promised to look into it.

Government officials said e-passes were being issued to eligible applicants from all the districts. "Thousands of applications were being processed at the district level but many were being rejected because of incomplete information or wrong entry of the district concerned," an official said.

In order to enforce the curfew, barricades were erected by the Delhi Police at several places to check vehicles and ensure that no person was moving around without authorisation during the curfew period. "Patrolling has been intensified in view of the weekend curfew," a senior Delhi Police officer said.

Legal action would be taken if anyone violated the COVID-19 curfew orders, he said.

Officials in several districts said teams would be on the ground through the 55-hour curfew period to ensure that the order was not violated and people did not venture out unnecessarily. "No major violations were reported by any of our 40-45 odd enforcement teams that kept watch during

the day. Rain and cold also contributed to keeping people indoors," said a senior South Delhi district officer.

The district officials had sensitised market associations and resident welfare associations through meetings to ensure they were well informed of the do's and don'ts during curfew hours.

"After weekend curfew was decided, enforcement teams numbering around 23 had visited markets and residential areas and used public address systems to inform people about the restrictions. This helped in checking any major violations," said a senior officer in North East Delhi. In view of the surge in coronavirus cases due to the Omicron variant, the Delhi government announced the weekend curfew on Tuesday.

"A weekend curfew has been imposed to minimise the spread of the coronavirus in Delhi. Visit the hospital only if you have severe symptoms. Treatment is possible under home-isolation. Wear a mask and follow all the COVID-related protocols," Health Minister Satyendar Jain tweeted on Saturday morning.

During the weekend curfew, only those involved in essential services and those facing an emergency situation are allowed to step out of their homes. Those venturing out will have to produce e-passes issued by the government or valid identity cards.

People can apply for an e-pass for the weekend

curfew and the night curfew on weekdays on http://www.delhi.gov.in.

Officials involved in essential and emergency services are included in exempted category and can move out by showing their identity cards. People coming from or going to airports, railway stations and inter-state bus terminuses will be allowed on the production of valid tickets. Pregnant women and patients going to get medical and health services, along with attendants, are exempted on the production of valid identity cards and a doctor's prescription.