NEW DELHI/GHAZIABAD: An evacuation carried out on a war footing through Saturday night and Sunday ensured the thousands of migrant workers who had gathered at Delhi’s borders with Ghaziabad and Noida and at Anand Vihar ISBT had either been put on buses to take them home or moved to shelters in either of the three cities.
But while the border crisis was solved, the huge sweep of migration across north India now presents a stiff logistical challenge of screening these travelling masses who will mingle with the local population in their respective cities, towns and villages during a lockdown enforced specifically for social distancing to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus infection.
Through Sunday, people continued to pour out of Delhi, towards the Noida and Yamuna expressways and UP Gate in Ghaziabad, jumping over barricades put up at the border in the desperation to get home. Among themselves, they spoke about the lockdown lasting three months — echoing WhatsApp messages doing the rounds — and their savings would run out much before that.
Ghaziabad district magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey said around 90,000 people were sent in 850 roadways buses and scores of private ones on Sunday, after which the bus service was stopped. The borders have been sealed again. From Ghaziabad alone, 2,000 buses had been run since Friday night to evacuate people. Of these, 650 buses were provided by
