The prohibitory orders on gathering and movement of people in Delhi's Trilokpuri area following a communal clash were relaxed for three hours Tuesday as no fresh violence was reported, police said.

 

 

 "The prohibitory orders were relaxed for three hours from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. as there has been no fresh case of violence," Joint Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range) Sanjay Beniwal told IANS.

 

 "As the situation was normal today (Tuesday), we are planning to give six hours relaxation in prohibitory orders tomorrow (Wednesday)," he said.

 

 On Tuesday morning, people were only allowed to venture out of their houses to buy milk, vegetables and other essential food items.

 

 Like Monday, police provided essential commodities through Safal outlets and Mother Dairy kiosks.

 

 Schools and offices in the area remained closed Tuesday as well, while children studying in schools outside the area were allowed to go.

 

 Almost all shops in the locality opened during the relaxation period and people were allowed to move freely, but police personnel were deployed at every intersection of the narrow streets.

 

 Residents of Trilokpuri heaved a sigh of relief Tuesday, four days since they were confined to their homes because of the prohibitory orders following the communal clash.

 

 An announcement to lift the relaxation till 5 p.m. was being made by police patrol vehicles, and residents came out of their houses, bought essential commodities and discussed the issue with each other.

 

 "It seems that we were confined for months. I feel happy after the relaxation of prohibitory orders and wish that the situation remains calm," Habib, who runs a grocery shop in Block 35, told IANS.

 

 Kishan Pratap Singh, a 25-year-old resident of Block 27, said:" I never saw such kind of a situation in Trilokpuri. I was thinking that my house has turned into a prison. I could not go outside my own house."

 

 Delhi Police officials met clerics of both Hindu and Muslim communities to keep the situation calm.

 

 An unmanned aerial vehicle was also used to take pictures of houses where stones and bricks were collected by people for their safety.

 

 "We cleared the bricks and stones collected by people on their roofs after identifying their houses with the help of an unmanned aerial vehicle," a police official said.

 

 Two groups of Hindus and Muslims clashed on Diwali Oct 23 after which the authorities imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC (which bans illegal gatherings).

 

 Police, however, said the "situation was under control, but still tense".

 

 Trilokpuri, divided into 36 blocks, is being manned by over 1,000 security personnel from Delhi Police, Rapid Action Force and Central Reserve Police Force along with over 30 police vans, water cannons and riot control vehicles.