Police checks trigger jams, doctors among those stuck in Noida

NOIDA: The chief minister’s visit to Noida had a cascading effect on traffic at the Kalindi Kunj border, where vehicles stood in queue that stretched several kilometres for around four hours.
Most of those headed for Noida from the Delhi side between 8am and 11.30am were asked to go back, among them doctors and other healthcare staff. Restrictions due to Covid are still in force at the border, with only those associated with emergency services being allowed to cross over on normal days.
Commuters complained they had no information about the stricter curbs on movement on Saturday morning. Dr Sonali Gupta, an eye specialist with ESIC Hospital in Noida Sector 24, said she was supposed to be at work at 9am. “There was a jam right from the beginning of the Kalindi Kunj bridge. I thought it was the routine snarl during office hours and the road would clear up soon. But the vehicles would not move. Around 11.30am, police asked the commuters headed for Noida to take a U-turn and return to Delhi. The cops told me they had clear instructions not to let anyone pass because of CM’s visit,” Dr Gupta said.
Vehicles carrying essential goods were made to stand on one side until noon and then allowed to cross into Noida.
Most of the commuters were office-goers. Some clicked pictures of the snarls and made videos to send them to their bosses to ensure they are not pulled up later for coming late.
“By the time I reached my workplace, it was already 12.30 pm. Many took the DND route but I did not opt for it since I was already four hours late. I clicked pictures of the jam and sent them to my seniors. They should know why I reached late,” Dr Gupta said.
R Muralidharan Pillai, who was travelling from Delhi, questioned the police’s decision to ask commuters to return to Delhi after keeping them waiting for four hours. “Later, we came to know it was all for Yogi’s visit,” he wrote on Twitter, adding it was “the worst ever jam” towards Noida.
Those who took the DND route had to undergo strict checks before crossing the border. Delhi Police posted a tweet to alert commuters about the traffic situation on the Kalindi Kunj flyover. “Motorists are advised to use the DND,” they said.
Commuters asked why doctors and healthcare staff were not being allowed to cross over when they were associated with essential services and should be exempt from any restrictions.
Traffic on the Noida side, too, was in a mess. At the Sector 37 intersection, the police had set up barricades and were diverting traffic. A woman stuck there alleged that she was not allowed to move despite pleading with the cops that she urgently needed to buy medicines.
At one point, she even yelled at the cops, who told her that they had strict instructions from their seniors not to allow anybody.
Noida police, however, claimed that those associated with essential services were allowed to enter the city. DCP (Noida) Sankalp Sharma agreed that the restrictions were there, but for the weekend lockdown that has been in place for the past few weeks.
Told about allegations that even those attached with essential services were not being allowed to move, Sharma said such complaints would be looked into. “There are a lot of medicine shops that are open. However, if somebody wants to buy medicines from a particular shop, that is different,” he added.