Noida will now seal single towers, not entire societies

The move comes in the backdrop of several RWAs and citizens protesting against zones being contained for an extended period despite societies not having reported more than one case. Most housing societies in the containment zone list have minimum 10,000 residents and, except those involved in essential services, no one is allowed to travel outside.

On Monday night, an argument ensued between residents of Supertech Eco Village 1 and police after the administration reached the spot to seal the society due to three positive cases being reported. Protesting at the gate, residents said the few cases should not impact their movement. Police convinced them and sealed the society.

Krishna Kumar Sharma, general secretary of Supertech Capetown in Sector 74, had also written to the district magistrate on the issue: “As of Tuesday, there has been only one case of Covid-19 for which a society of approximately 25,000 people has been sealed. 90% people work in the private sector and are likely to lose their jobs if they are not allowed to go outside… We have been taking precautions and the administration also has to strike a balance.”

In the previous list of containment zones shared by the administration, there were 37 areas in category 1, where there was only one case and the containment zone radius was 250 metres. There were 26 areas in category 2, where the radius of the zones was 500 metres due to more than one case.

As per the fresh order, the 250-metre radius rule has been done away with in urban areas and only the tower where the infected person lives will be sealed.

In adjacent Ghaziabad, the administration has intensified efforts to prevent Ghaziabad-Delhi travel by applying a sectoral scheme in Loni.

With an estimated population of approximately 17 lakh, Loni is a densely populated rural area at the Delhi border and is a cheaper residential alternative for those working in Delhi. Even though Loni has no present active cases, and was not on the list of containment zones, the move is set to discourage daily back and forth traveling between Delhi and Ghaziabad.

“The area has been divided into eight sectors and five zones. It has been done purely keeping in mind the fact that there is a large population in Loni that travels to Delhi for work since it is situated adjacent to it. This includes doctors, government officials etc. We will be having conversations with them and requesting them to find accommodation in Delhi for a few days. The sectoral scheme is purely a precautionary measure since most of the cases in Ghaziabad have been linked to Delhi,” said Khalid Anjum, SDM, Loni.

Till Wednesday evening, Ghaziabad reported 243 cases with 193 recoveries and 2 deaths. It had sealed borders to Delhi earlier this week following a spike in cases.