Uttar Pradesh Lockdown: Noida Market Associations Urge Authorities to Impose Strict Measures to Control Overcrowding

Noida: Days after East Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar market was shut down due to violation of lockdown guidelines, the market associations in Noida on Thursday urged the authorities to impose strict measures to ensure people follow guidelines. The famous Atta market association in Noida has written to the Noida administration to ensure strict enforcement or it would soon emerge as a Covid hotspot.

As per a report by Times of India, the local shop owners have urged the authorities to control the number of unauthorized vendors in and around Atta market. The request from the shop owners came as some of the areas such as weekly vegetable markets in Sadarpur, Barola, Bhangel and Shhadra witnessed an increased footfall.

Speaking to TOI, Atta market association president CB Jha said that it has hardly been a week since the market opened and a large crowd is being seen in the market. He added that the people are thronging street vendors and several food stalls and the association has urged the authorities to regulate the crowd and ensure proper masking otherwise Atta market will be the next hotspot for the city.

Saying that only 330 street vendors are authorised by the Noida Authority, he said there are around 700 other vendors who line up around Atta Market till Naya Gaon.

He went on to say that the shop owners have informed the police and authority about crowding by these vendors but not much has been done to remove them.

On the other hand, the officials said that announcements are being done and police are imposing fine on people for not wearing masks. However, if the crowd in markets continues, shutting down markets may be required in Noida.

On Thursday, the number of active COVID cases came down to 28 in Gautam Buddh Nagar and 32 in Ghaziabad, while both districts added just one new case.

The overall case tally reached 63,055 in Gautam Buddh Nagar and 55,545 in Ghaziabad, according to data issued by the Uttar Pradesh Health Department for a 24-hour period.

The death toll stood at 466 in Gautam Buddh Nagar and 461 in Ghaziabad. The number of active cases in Uttar Pradesh came down to 2,671 from 2,796 the previous day, while overall recoveries reached 16,80,980 and the death toll mounted to 22,601 on Thursday.