Nervous Gurgaon stays indoors

Gurgaon: Kunal Sharma was reminded of the pandemic when he drove to his office on Wednesday, reaching in 20 minutes as he zipped through on what would normally be a chock-a-block midweek morning, and found a parking slot too.

“The roads were deserted. Although it was a smooth drive to office, I pray the situation in my city becomes normal at the earliest,” said Sharma.

Traffic across the city was thin for the second successive day on Wednesday as a city unnerved by the outbreak of communal unrest mostly stayed indoors, studying and working from home and restricting visits to shops or going out for errands because of the fear of violence breaking out.

Sangeeta Aggarwal, a Sector 72 resident, chose to work from home. “Tension prevailed in the area where I live. Fortunately, my office in Delhi asked me to stay home and venture out only when the situation became normal,” she said.

Aashutosh Beergi, the CEO of a social-impact startup, said WFH was not a “practical solution” for them, but one they had to switch to for safety. “After the pandemic, we had booked a co-working space for our employees. Things were smooth until the news of communal clashes broke out on Monday. In the wake of tension, we decided to work from home until things settle down,” he said.

On Tuesday evening, some offices located along Sohna Road and Golf Course Extension road asked employees to stay home after a mob went on the rampage in Badshapur.

“My office sent an email on Tuesday evening, saying that since prohibitory orders under Section 144 were in force because of the ongoing violence, employees were advised to work from home. Soon, videos of arson were also circulated in our WhatsApp group. Some of these videos were shot by our colleagues who live near Sohna road,” said Rohit Ahuja, who works in Sector 66.

“We were sent back home around 4pm on Tuesday and were asked not to come to office until further notice,” said a Blinkit employee.

In some of the districts affected by the violence, like Gurgaon and Palwal, Section 144 will remain in place until further orders, police said.

A Sector 70 resident whose son studies in Class 5 of a prominent school said he did not dare send him to school when RAF teams were out on the streets. “We have been given the option of online classes. How can I send my son to school when I have decided to work from home myself,” he asked.

One resident spoke of targeting hate crimes in the same way that misinformation and fake news around Covid was targeted – with awareness and education. “I think as a community it is incumbent on us to defuse any rumours and keep the conversation as positive as possible. We do need expressions of care and concern for the safety of all everywhere,” the resident said.


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