After public transport services not available and borders sealed during the lockdown, non-Delhi residents who are stranded in the city are reaching out to cab and hearse van drivers to drop them at their respective cities in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Aarti Singh, who came to Delhi for a job interview is trapped at her friend’s house said that the landlord has stopped meal services and her family back in Lucknow are worried about her. “My family want me back in Lucknow at any cost. Through a contact, I reached out to a cab driver who agreed to drop me, but he will charge ₹7,000 per seat with a condition that if they get caught at borders then no money will be refunded,” said Ms. Aarti.
On condition
She added that she has agreed but she has to wait till he gets three other passengers.
In another case, Phool Devi, who went to visit her relative, admitted at AIIMS, is also trapped at a hostel.
“It is just a single room and we are five persons sleeping in one room. My children are worried at my home town in Rampur. My relative got me connected to a hearse van driver who will drop me to my town on Tuesday,” said Ms. Devi. She added that she will pay ₹5,000 for the drive. The driver said the hearse van is allowed to move in lockdown and it will not be stopped.
Similar was the case with Mahesh Singh, who has come to visit his son who is studying at a college in North Campus. ‘I am a farmer and I have to go back to my farms for harvest time. If I failed to go then I will suffer a huge loss. I will walk till the Haryana border and will arrange some transport from there,” said Mr. Mahesh.
Pickets arranged
The police have directed his personnel to stop the movement of the migrant population, trying to leave the city, by increasing the number of pickets across the city and the border areas with the help of additional forces.
On Sunday, a bus owner and his three drivers were arrested during a picket checking at Dhaula Kuan Flyover for carrying passengers in violation of lockdown orders.
