10pm-5am curfew in Delhi till end of mth; traders, eateries fear biz loss

New Delhi: Due to a sudden surge in Covid-19 cases and high positivity rate, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has imposed a curfew in the city between 10pm and 5am from Tuesday till April 30. Those going for 24x7 vaccination and the movement of essential services, including home delivery of food, will be allowed with e-passes. Government officials, healthcare staff and all those engaged in essential services have been exempted. The government has, however, ruled out any lockdown at this stage.

Gatherings at markets, malls, restaurants, nightclubs, social functions etc will have to disperse before 10pm. It also means that employees engaged in business establishments dealing in non-essential items will have to leave early so that they can reach home by 10pm while the shops will also have to wind up early. Traders believe this will affect business since in summer, people prefer shopping in the evening. Overall, the curfew is bound to affect the small recovery that the economy had made in the past few months. It is also likely to impact the number of guests at weddings.

Check on leisure activities, e-passes for weddings

The order issued by the DDMA said: "The situation of Covid-19 in Delhi has been reviewed and it has been observed that there has been a sudden increase in cases in the recent past along with a high positivity rate. Therefore, it is felt that a night curfew needs to be imposed in the national capital territory from 10pm to 5am, except for essential activities/services, as an emergency measure, for the wellbeing and safety of people."

Those travelling to and from the airport, railway stations and bus stations will be allowed to pass on producing tickets. Since April is wedding season, the authorities are planning to issue e-passes for only family members for wedding purposes. The e-passes for all permitted movement can be obtained by applying on the Delhi government website — www.delhi.gov.in. Since e-passes are required for several essential activities there may be a scramble to procure them. During the lockdown last year, the government’s e-pass issuing system had got overwhelmed.

The curfew is designed to check non-urgent movement of people, like going to a party and participating in other leisure activities, with minimum impact on economic activities, said an official. Since the deployment of enforcement officials is far lower at night, the scope for checking violations is also less. In such a scenario, the government believes, the curfew could help.

Officials of central and state governments, public corporations, police, prisons, home guards, civil defence, fire and emergency services, district administration, pay and accounts office, electricity, water and sanitation, public transport (air/railways/buses), disaster management and related services, municipal services and all other essential services have been exempted from the restrictions on production of a valid identity card.

All private medical personnel, such as doctors, nursing staff, paramedics, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and other medical and health services, are also exempted from the restrictions besides pregnant women and patients who are seeking medical services .

There is no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement or transportation of essential and non-essential goods. No separate permission or e-pass will be required for such movement.

The DDMA order also said that movement of people going for Covid vaccination and that of people related to commercial and private establishments providing essential services or commodities, including home delivery of food items, shall be allowed with e-passes. Those engaged in banks, insurance offices and ATMs, print and electronic media, telecommunications, internet services, delivery of all essential goods, including pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, through ecommerce, are also exempted.

All other essential services like fuel supply, power generation, transmission and distribution, cold storage and warehousing services, private security services and manufacturing units of essential commodities are exempted if e-passes in soft or hard copy are produced.