The Delhi government recently issued a yellow alert in the national capital amid the massive surge of COVID-19 cases in the city in the last couple of days. Under this alert, several restrictions were imposed, including the reduction of capacity in public transport.
In view of the latest restrictions imposed in Delhi, both the Delhi Metro and DTC buses in the capital have been ordered to operate at just 50 percent capacity, with no standing passengers, and tightening of the COVID-19 norms at entry and exit points.
Due to this, the office goers and daily commuters in Delhi woke up to a harrowing site at Delhi Metro stations and bus stands, as the reduced capacity led to a long queue of people waiting outside the stations, with little to no social distancing norms in place.
Many commuters took to social media and posted images of long queues outside of metro stations and crowds at bus stands, which were visibly engulfed with chaos. Sites of crowds and queues emerged from several areas such as Laxmi Nagar, Akshardham, and Rohini.
The long queues and crowds outside of metro stations were the result of the reduced capacity inside the trains and the closure of several entry gates. According to reports, out of the 712 metro gates, only 444 gates will remain open under the new guidelines.
Taking to Twitter, many commuters slammed the decision of the Delhi government and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. One Twitter user shared visuals from the Malviya Nagar Metro station, saying that it took two hours to enter the station due to the queue.
In its official order, the Delhi government had said, “Travel will be allowed, only up to 50 percent of the seating capacity inside the metro trains. In addition, no passenger shall be allowed to stand during the travel.”
Some of the other restrictions imposed in Delhi are the closure of schools, gyms, spas, cinema halls, and other places where gatherings are possible, and the reduction of the wedding and funeral capacity. Apart from the daily COVID-19 surge, Delhi currently accounts for the highest number of Omicron variant cases in the country.
