NEW DELHI: About 66% of Delhi residents want the city borders to open up to allow travel to Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. According to a survey conducted by LocalCircles, residents of the National Capital Region (NCR) are, however, divided on Delhi opening its borders given the rising number of covid-19 cases in the national capital.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government has sealed borders for a week. It has invited suggestions from the public until Friday on when they should be opened and if free treatment should be extended to people from across the country at hospitals owned by it.
In the past 24 hours, 1,513 new coronavirus cases were reported in Delhi, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, taking the tally to 23,645. The death toll has climbed to 606, while recoveries number 9,542.
The new guidelines announced by the central government in the first phase of exiting the lockdown allow for inter-state movement of people. However, states have the authority to regulate such movement based on their assessment of the situation.
According to the survey, 52% of residents in Ghaziabad do not want borders to open, while 65% Noida residents feel that they should. About 54% Faridabad residents want borders to open while 48% of Gurgaon residents feel they should remain sealed.
These four cities in NCR have approximately 2,500 cases. The survey was conducted among 20,000 people located in Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar. Of the respondents, 54% were men while 46% the rest women.
