“My daughter is trapped in a PG hostel in Mukherjee Nagar. Please evacuate her,” requested a man on a phone call to Delhi Police helpline on Friday.
“We are flooded with calls requesting transport facility as people mostly from Bihar and U.P. want to get out of the city. We try to make them comfortable by assuring them that they will get food and other facilities but they just want to go back,” said a police officer.
Delhi police have received over 4,000 calls till Friday on their 24-hour helpline dedicated to addressing queries related to the 21-day lockdown. They are getting calls from people who have run out of essential commodities like food and medicines. They are getting maximum calls from people who want passes to commute from Delhi to U.P. and Bihar.
ADVERTISEMENT
Buses and food
The helpline: 011-23469526, was set up to answer queries related to circulars, instructions and prohibitory orders issued by the police. On Friday, Delhi police provided buses to the people who were walking towards the U.P. border.
“We saw scores of people walking on the highway. They had no food and water with them. We provide them food and arranged buses to ferry them till the U.P. borders,” said a police officer.
ADVERTISEMENT
Delhi police said they are requesting people to stay at home and that there is no need to panic. They are in touch with NGOs and the Delhi government to provide food to the people in need.
“We are not providing any passes for travel purposes other than a vehicle involved in essential services. We are in touch with U.P. and Haryana police to provide hassle-free passage to essential goods,” added the officer.
The police said they are getting numerous calls from parents, who are requesting help for their children trapped in PGs and hostels. “We assure parents that there is no need to panic,” added the officer.