Weekend lockdown guidelines issued; residents in Noida & Gzb still confused

Noida/Ghaziabad: Amid the chaos that has ensued since directions for total lockdown on weekends were issued by the state government, detailed guidelines were issued on Tuesday which will also be

applicable in Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad districts, as per the magistrates of both the districts.

As per the guidelines, all marketplaces, shops will be allowed to open from Monday to Friday between 9 am to 9 pm and will remain shut on Saturday and Sunday. Only those who are involved in essential/emergency services will be exempt from the restrictions while their ID cards or on duty passes will be considered as movement passes.

There has been no relaxation given to the office goers or any other person who commutes for work to Delhi or nearby states. Hence, the status quo will be maintained over interstate movement during the weekend lockdown.

Traders and industrialists have expressed concern over the weekend lockdown. "Even after unlocking, our businesses have not picked up even by 10 per cent as shops are being allowed to open in odd/even manner and the customer footfall is very less. Usually, we have observed that the business remains less on weekdays which gradually picks up on weekends," said Sushil Kumar Jain, Convener, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT)- Delhi NCR and President of Sector 18 Market Association in Noida.

"We suggest that the lockdown declared for sanitization may have been in midweek to facilitate working-class customers who would only get time on weekends and now they will not be able to come to market for purchasing," added Jain.

Meanwhile, there is also chaos among the office goers and those people who commute to Delhi or vice versa as the district administrations are yet to decide on border movement during the weekends. Officials said that they have not received any separate guidelines for the NCR region from the state government.

"Even on Saturday and Sunday, cops didn't allow entry from border areas to those vehicles who were not involved in essential services while many commuters were issued challans. There must be clarity from the district administration over the border movement on weekends," said Siddhant Bhargava, a resident of Nirala Estate society who travels daily to his factory in Chandni Chowk area of Delhi.