The city police were lenient on the mask rule during the Diwali and New Year holidays, but with Covid 19 instances on the rise, they have swung into action and intensified their hunt for mask offenders.
This is evident in the increase of mask violation instances from 65 on New Year’s Day, November 5, to 345 on Sunday, a more than 5 times increase. There was also an increase of Covid cases in the city, from 20 on November 5 to 37 on Saturday.
“We raised awareness about the use of masks on New Year’s Day but did not enforce it strictly, thus just 65 incidents were reported. On the day of Bhai Beej, we took a more moderate approach, fining only 81 people who were spotted roaming without a mask “a police official stated
According to the officer, the cops increased their efforts beginning on November 7, after which the number of mask cases increased to three figures.
The numbers for mask offences demonstrate that cops have a tendency not to arrest people during festivals and particularly ahead of elections.
According to local police statistics, only four persons were arrested on February 21 during the civic body elections. This is the lowest figure since the mask offences were implemented on June 24, 2020.
Following that, the city recorded an increase in Covid cases and deaths in March and April. Aside from the polls, mask offences decreased during the Rath Yatra celebration as well.