New Delhi: While Delhi opened its border with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on Monday as part of relaxations announced under ‘Unlock-1’ in view of the COVID-19 crisis, chaos was witnessed at the UP border, as barricades were retained in certain in places, where police checked for passes – causing long traffic snarls.Meanwhile, as the restrictions on places of worship, malls and restaurant were also lifted, most resumed their operations, with social distancing norms.For commuters, the first day of the easing of border restrictions was not as smooth as they would have liked. At many of the borders, particularly of Delhi with Noida and Uttar Pradesh, those travelling from the national capital to the neighbouring state had a harrowing time as the UP Police continued to check people for valid passes and turned back those who did not possess them. This caused a huge traffic snarl near the DND flyway in Noida and at the Ghazipur, Maharajpur and Loni borders in Ghaziabad.Ghaziabad keeps border closed for those without passesSeveral members of the Ghaziabad and Noida administrations and police forces had said on Sunday that the borders would remain sealed at their end, as the incidence of COVID-19 was still high in UP and they had not received any fresh instructions from the state administration to ease the travel guidelines.The superintendent of police (Ghaziabad city), Manish Mishra, had stated that “there are no directions issued by the district magistrate for opening of Ghaziabad’s border with Delhi” and as such, the previous directions will remain in force. Ghaziabad had imposed restriction on April 22, while Delhi had sealed the border from its end on June 1. Even as Delhi removed its restrictions on Monday, those imposed by Ghaziabad continue to exist.Also Read: Delhi: Traders Report Poor Footfall and Earnings as India Slowly UnlocksPeople tag UP CM, Noida DM in tweets Likewise in Noida, commuters bound for offices or business and hoping for a smooth drive into the district were in for a rude shock as the traffic police turned away those without e-passes.Many of the harassed commuters thereupon tagged UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar and Noida Police in their tweets, urging the restrictions to be eased. However, this had little impact on the ground and chaos prevailed all through the day.The Central government had on May 30 announced that restrictions on intra- or inter-state travel had been lifted. It said that if any state government wished to continue these restrictions, it should give ‘wide publicity’ regarding the procedure to be followed. The UP government failed to do so, resulting in the traffic clutter at its borders with Delhi.Representative image.Photo: PTIThankfully for those commuting from Haryana, there was no chaos as the police on both sides allowed people to travel without any additional checks.Malls reopen with safeguardsApart from the easing of traffic norms by Delhi, Monday also witnessed the resumption of work at malls and restaurants after nearly 75 days of lockdown.In Delhi, most of the 100 big and small shopping malls resumed operations. They are seen as a critical cog in the capital’s economic system, contributing over Rs 500 crore in revenue for the exchequer and employing over 10,000 people.At most malls, the managements have issued detailed guidelines to the owners of various units and shops on maintaining social distancing and screening of visitors to curb the spread of the coronavirus.While the temperature of visitors is screened at the entrance points, contact-less hand sanitisers have been placed at the main entrance as also the entrance of all shops and establishments. Visitors are expected to sanitize before entering. Some malls have also installed UV sterilisation chambers to disinfect the belongings of people.Another precaution which shops, restaurants and offices have taken is to keep their doors open so that visitors did not have to touch them. Instructions had also been issued to restrict the use of elevators to 25% of their capacity. Wearing of masks has also been made mandatory for entry into malls, while some may also insist on the visitor having the Aarogya Setu app.Some temples open, others `wait and watch’Most places of worship also re-opened on Monday with several changes to how the devout would conduct themselves.While as per the directions of the Centre, no prasad (offerings) or flowers could be placed in the temple, some temple complexes took additional steps. At the Chhattarpur temple, authorities have set up a “sanitisation tunnel” at the entrance through which devotees have to pass before they enter the complex. Thermal screening of visitors was also done.Some temples have decided to remain closed in view of the rise in COVID-19 cases. As such, all the 18 branches of the Iskcon Temple did not reopen. The temple authorities had earlier said they would adopt a ‘wait and watch’ approach before reopening.Religious places have reopened in Delhi. Photo: PTISocial distancing, early dispersal at Jama MasjidAt the Jama Masjid in Delhi, Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari said social distancing would be observed while offering prayers. He told a news channel, “We would also be telling people to disperse soon after they have offered the prayers. This is for our own good as it would keep the virus from spreading.”Some changes in rituals have also been done at the historic mosque. For example, a small community pond where people washed themselves before offering namaz has now been closed.Major gurdwaras such as Bangla Sahib, Sis Ganj and Rakabganj too re-opened with social distancing and sanitisation norms. While sanitisation tunnels have been set up there, people are also being discouraged from staying too long in the sanctum sanctorum.