Chaos at borders as both official's, citizens fail to adjust to lockdown

TRAVEL CURBS On Day 1, several people not in essential services flocked check points, while police refused entry to many who had genuine reasons to enter or leave the Capital

NEW DELHI: The sealing of Delhi’s borders on Monday morning caused confusion and chaos among motorists trying to cross over the city’s borders. Many took to arguing and pleading with the police who were told to not allow anyone, except essential services, through.

With Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announcing a complete lockdown in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, residents had been advised to travel only if unavoidable, and _ public transport was reduced to almost a trickle.

At the checkpoints, many found themselves stranded.

For the most part of the day, the police refused to give into the pleadings and arguments of the motorists — allowing only those they were convinced were genuine cases passage. But as evening set in, they were seen letting more motorists cross over.

Police attempted to turn away most people through persuasion and even the threat of a “penalty”’, and often resorted to loudspeakers to get their message across. Some motorists even offered to pay the “penalty”, which however was non-existent as the lockdown did not entail any such penalty.

The lockdown caught many Delhi residents who were outside the state off guard.

Delhi’s police commissioner, SN Shrivastava, had on Sunday said that the police would not stop Delhi residents from entering the city if they found themselves trapped in other states after the lockdown.

But the situation on the ground was very different.

“My children and wife are alone at home in Dwarka. I had visited Faridabad last night to drop some relatives to their home,” Santosh Pathak, who works for a telecommunication company, told a policeman at the Delhi-Faridabad border.

“Please, no arguments,” the policeman responded.