NEW DELHI: If you are not engaged in essential services and not exempted from night and weekend curfew restrictions imposed in the capital, you will not be allowed to enter a
Delhi Metro station or board a Delhi Transport Corporation or Cluster Scheme bus from 10pm on Friday to 5am on Monday.
Like the restrictions in place during the night curfew since April 6, public transport such as Delhi Metro, DTC and Cluster Scheme buses, autos and taxis will also be allowed to function during the weekend curfew, but only for the transportation of those in the exempted categories and following Covid safety protocols.
A Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) official said the entry to the Metro from 10pm on Friday to 5am on Monday would be allowed only to those passengers engaged in essential services as per the government order, after verification of their valid identity cards by DMRC or Central Industrial Security Force personnel.
A DTC spokesperson said buses of the corporation would operate as per the weekend schedule. Sources said passengers who were found not carrying valid IDs proving that they were engaged in essential services would not be allowed to board DTC and Cluster Scheme buses during the weekend by marshals present in these buses and they would ensure that the restrictions were followed. Frequency and number of buses may be decreased if it is found after a review that the footfall has come down.
Sources in DMRC said that usually, the footfall was lower during the weekend, particularly on Sundays, compared with morning and evening office hours on weekdays and there shouldn’t be much problem in regulating the passenger traffic and ensuring only those in exempted categories travel by the Metro.
Sources in an app-based cab aggregator company said cabs would be available during the weekend but only for essential travel. Drivers said that while they were already reeling under lower demand for cabs since March last year, the weekend curfew would mean there would be negligible passenger traffic for two days in the week.
“Almost 75% of our customers are now working from home, which has affected our livelihood. By imposing the weekend curfew, the government has snatched away the opportunity to earn anything for two days in a week,” said Kamaljit Gill, president of Sarvodaya Drivers’ Association of Delhi. “Many drivers are already finding it difficult to pay EMIs of bank loans taken for buying their cabs,” Gill said.
Weekend is the time when many people leave for short getaways but the curfew will mean people would avoid venturing out and the business of tour operators will be affected, said Sanjay Samrat, president of the Delhi Taxi, Tourist Transporters Association.