In Delhi, mask-wearing rules flouted; over Rs. 1cr fine collected
Despite repeated statements from the government stressing on the importance of wearing masks, residents of Delhi seemingly don't care enough, data complied from last week shows. From September 20 to 27, the enforcement agencies collected Rs. 1,19,57,900 in fine. 23,922 people were fined and five cases were registered, reports TOI. To give a perspective, 25,000 were fined between mid-June and September 17.
Notably, the government has started implementing the fines for not donning masks in public fiercely in recent weeks. As a part of this plan, officials, sometimes dressed in civilian clothes, skim through cars in various areas of the capital city. Those not found covering their faces with masks, or cloth, are asked to park their vehicles and pay a fine.
The decision to implement laws seriously was taken at a meeting of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and L-G Anil Baijal on September 18. It was adjudged that despite the CM's requests and the government's caller tunes, people have been rather callous about the precautions. Subsequently, all DMs and officials were ordered to enforce the rules diligently.
In the last three months, officials found that at least 5,000 people roamed without masks in the West Delhi, which has a population of over 25 lakh. Likewise in the Central region, nestling congested areas like Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazar, and Kashmere Gate, nearly 3,000 were found without masks. 2,423 violations were reported from Southwest District, for the same time period, added TOI.
From Shahdara, 2,398 violations were reported. From North West, South, New Delhi, North, East, and North West, 2,301, 2,254, 1,994, 1,945, 1,775, and 1,168 violations were reported respectively. 1,120 people were found without masks in the South East district.
To note, a fine of Rs. 500 was fixed for violators in mid-June by Baijal. Currently, the National Capital has 200 enforcement teams. Additional DM (South) Arun Gupta said there's enough evidence to show masks are directly linked to falling infections, adding that this careless attitude explains the rise in Delhi's infections. Currently, Delhi has 273,098 cases and has lost 5,272 to the virus.
