Following the second day of lockdown 4.0, there was a huge traffic movement across the National Capital, with traffic at snarls at Noida and Ghazipur border ,as UP Police asked for passes from motorists, during morning hours.
Public transport resumed in Delhi on Tuesday with buses, auto-rickshaws and taxis plying on the road, albeit with a limited number of passengers. The Delhi Transport Corporation and Cluster buses resumed services with social-distancing norms and safety measures in place like use of sanitisers and masks to check the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday had announced relaxations in curbs, including reopening of public transport with social-distancing norms, during the extended lockdown that is slated to end on May 31.
Following the traffic movement since Tuesday morning and long vehicle queues at Delhi-Noida borders, the Delhi Traffic Police alerted through Twitter commuters travelling to Noida to plan their trip only if their vehicles have movement passes issued by the authorities concerned.
"As U.P. Police is allowing entry to NOIDA only for vehicle heaving movement pass issued by D.M. NOIDA. People travelling from Delhi to Noida using Kalindi Kunj barrage flyover and DND flyover may plan their trip accordingly," it tweeted.
A senior Uttar Pradesh Police official said scores of people thronged the Delhi-Noida border Tuesday morning.
"We are checking every vehicle but sometimes it becomes very difficult due to the numbers of vehicles. People with valid passes are being allowed. However, if someone does not have a pass and is carrying some important items like medicine, they are also being allowed," he said.
The official said there were some who had come out only to roam in the area and they were sent back with a warning.
According to a Delhi Traffic Police officer deployed at the Noida border, most of the vehicles were going from Delhi to Noida in the morning.
The scenario will change in the evening when people will return to their homes, he added.
Meanwhile, a senior police officers said over 2,000 traffic police personnel have been deployed on the ground to ensure the smooth flow of vehicular movement across the city and at the adjoining bordering areas.
In the wake of relaxations during the phase four of the lockdown, the volume of vehicles on the roads increased significantly and to manage the movement of traffic, the focus is being laid on regulation in junction management, said Taj Hasan, Special Commissioner of Police, Traffic.
"Police had presence on pickets earlier but now with the increase in vehicles on the roads, we have also deployed our staff on traffic junctions for regulations to ensure smooth movement of traffic and no jams," he said.
Several pickets of traffic police personnel, Hasan said, have been deployed across the city and at the bordering areas.
On the eastern border alone, at least 16 pickets from the department have been deployed to control traffic, he added.
Since rules were being strictly followed at the UP border and many commuters were not allowed entry, those who were on the stretch of Kalindi Kunj were asked to take a U-turn, due to which there was a heavy traffic movement, Hasan said.
Traffic officials said even though the volume of vehicles has increased across the city but no reports no major jams have been reported so far.