With yet another cluster identified and more people testing positive for the virus, the civic body has decided to strengthen marshals on ground to enforce COVID-19 rules.
Addressing civic officials in a virtual meeting here on Friday, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad said that for the next two months, marshals — who were until now deployed to monitor solid waste management and check littering in the city — will focus on ensuring that people are wearing masks, following social distancing protocols, and sanitising and washing their hands regularly.
Public announcements on precautions will be made by autorickshaws and compactors going to wards for waste collection “People have lowered their guard; we cannot take COVID-19 for granted,” said Mr. Prasad.
To ensure compliance, senior officials, accompanied by marshals, will visit cinema halls, markets, malls, and other crowded areas. “If many violators are found, close down the establishment,” he added, and instructed the Chief Marshal Col. Rajbir Singh (retd.) to levy fines on non-complying managements.
From February 25, when marshals began monitoring weddings and parties, till March 8, they have levied fines amounting to ₹7.75 lakh on citizens not wearing masks or maintaining social distance.
“Separate teams have been constituted and we have identified clusters with two or more weddings halls. There are some zones where no such clusters exist, while some zones have more than five such clusters,” said Mr. Singh
Citing the example of one area in Yeshwanthpur, he said there were at least 15 wedding halls on one road.
Between February 25 to 28, fines amounting to ₹2.92 lakh fines were levied and 1,171 cases booked against violators in marriage halls. From March 1 to 8, 1,929 cases were booked and ₹4.82 lakh fines levied.
From February 25 to March 8, a total of 3,057 cases were booked against those not wearing masks and ₹7.64 lakh in fines levied, while 43 cases were booked and penalty of ₹10,750 collected from those not maintaining social distance during the same period.
With more marshals to be deployed on COVID-19 duty the number of cases booked is expected to rise. “We need to intensify enforcement, as such gatherings and events could become super spreaders,” Mr. Prasad reiterated.
At the meeting, he also instructed officials to make enforcement an important agenda during ward committee meetings. Joint commissioners were directed to address residents’ welfare associations.
