A huge crowd was witnessed at Anand Vihar Rail Terminal.
Announcing a 6-day lockdown in Delhi from Monday night, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealed migrant workers not to leave the city which could result in a major crisis similar to one witnessed in March/April last year. However, Kejriwal's appeal had little impact on people as hundreds of people were seen at major bus stands and railway stations of Delhi in order to reach their home state.
People from neighbouring states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar to as far as Nepal were seen leaving the city. Huge crowds were seen at Anand Vihar Terminal to return to their native places
"I do a job in Delhi and work is yet to resume, so it's better to return home than to sit here," news agency quoted Navin, a native of Nepal, as saying.
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Earlier, during a virtual press conference, CM Kerjiwal said that the decision to impose lockdown was not an easy one for the AAP government as it hurts the poor, daily wagers the most.
"I appeal to people not to leave Delhi during the lockdown. We will take care of you. I am there to ensure it," the chief minister said.
He said that he has been strictly against lockdown, adding that he believes it can slow the pace of infections but it's not a solution.
"It should be imposed only when health system reaches its limits. I appeal to people to completely follow the lockdown. We will together overcome this fourth phase of COVID19- as we did in the earlier three waves," he said.
Kejriwal announced a six-day lockdown from 10 pm on Monday till 5 am on April 26 which he said was necessary to deal with the rising number of COVID-19 cases as the city's health system was stretched to its limits. The national capital has been reporting nearly 25,000 Covid cases for the past several days.
