Adhere to Unlock 2 norms, Gurugram resident associations told

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, July 5

Amidst the opening of malls and resumption of public transport, the Municipal Corporation has issued a directive to local resident welfare associations (RWAs) to allow all activities permitted by the MHA without any hindrance or additional restrictions.

The RWAs are notorious for allegedly imposing their own lockdowns in their societies and residential areas in the name of Covid precautions.

The RWAs have been asked to strictly abide by the guidelines and allow all residents to resume normal activities, including employment of maids and unrestricted mobility if the area is not a containment zone.

As per the orders issued recently, the RWAs have been asked to allow all to enter or exit the gates for work outside or inside the area with due precautions of thermal scanning, hand sanitisation and social distancing.

Entry of house helps to the houses of residents will be allowed with SOPs like mandatory use of face mask, thermal scanning and hand sanitisation at the entry gate. The order urges residents to go for live-in maids but clarifies it is just an advice, not a mandatory instruction.

Local maids have been at loggerheads with the RWAs which have been restricting their entries despite the unlock announcements. The maids had moved the administration claiming that they had lost their livelihood and blamed the RWAs for their draconian orders like mandatory Covid testing and non-usage of lifts in high-rises.

Similarly, a lot of complaints were received by the administration against certain the RWAs barring morning and evening walks leading to discomfort to senior citizens and pet parents.

The RWAs have been asked to allow walks though walks in common areas are to be restricted by staggering the morning and evening times (between 5 am and 10 pm) on the basis of odd-even house numbers to avoid crowding.

Meanwhile, the RWAs are rattled by the directive. “Our stringent measures kept societies Covid-free. RWAs are democratic bodies where people take collective decisions. We have the right to take our safety measures,” said a RWA president at Golf Course Road.