The Greater Chennai Corporation has deployed over 15,000 volunteers since the lockdown began, to monitor residents flouting COVID-19 safety rules.
The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) collected Rs 2.5 lakh as fines from those who violated COVID-19 safety norms in the city in a single day, on Monday. Residents were penalised for not adhering to prescribed safety norms including wearing of masks and not spitting in public places. According to reports, the GCC has deployed several volunteers to help the civic body ensure that residents follow safety norms.
The GCC has engaged over 15,000 volunteers since the lockdown to help in screening residents and ensure that safety guidelines are adhered to. On Monday, several people who were walking on the roads and were on vehicles were stopped by these volunteers and fined for various offences.
Those who did not wear masks were fined Rs 200 and those who spit in public places were fined Rs 500. On Monday alone, over 1,000 people were penalised for not having their masks on.
Teynampet zone collected the maximum amount in fines on Monday followed by the zones of Perungudi, Teynampet, Tiruvottiyur, Madhavaram, Royapuram, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Ambattur, and Alandur. No fines were collected from violators in zones like Manali, Anna Nagar, Kodambakkam, Tondiarpet, Valasaravakkam, Adyar and Sholinganallur on Monday. The GCC has collected around Rs 1.9 crore in the form of fines since the lockdown was implemented in Chennai.
Earlier this month, the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Banwarilal Purohit, signed an ordinance that made violations of COVID-19 lockdown norms ‘compoundable offences’. The government of Tamil Nadu passed an order giving effect to this ordinance, which said that a fine of Rs 5,000 would be imposed on anyone violating the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the state government around various activities.
The GO also stated that a person will be fined Rs 500 if they violated the rules regarding containment zones. If a similar offence is committed by a vehicle or a commercial establishment, the penalty will be Rs 5,000.
Source: The News Minute