No social distancing here

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 30

Even as cases of the Covid-19 pandemic are increasing day by day, the government guidelines like wearing face masks in public places and maintaining social distancing are being easily ignored especially in walled city areas.

In the markets, people can be seen roaming without wearing face masks and flouting the social distancing norms. The district administration and health authorities were alarmed after the city reported Covid-19 patients recently.

“The markets in the walled city are congested and usually witness a huge rush. Though following the curfew restrictions and subsequent lockdowns, the rush is not as it used to be, but people have failed to comply with the guidelines,” said Munish Kumar, a resident of the walled city area.

Naveen Sharma, another resident, said though people were wearing face masks but as far as social distancing was concerned, it was a definitely a casualty, especially in markets.

However, the problem is not confined only to the walled city area it can be seen in many other parts. To tackle the rush and ensure maintenance of social distancing, the district administration has categorised the shops in three zones and they were to open as per their turn.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Jagmohan Singh said there were clear instructions from the district administration and nobody was allowed to flout the norms. “Police officials have been asked to set up checkpoints and challan the people who were found violating government directions,” he said.

It was unfortunate that people did not understanding that the importance of maintaining social distancing and wearing masks. They were not only risking own their lives but also putting the lives of their loved ones at risk. He said the police had challaned over 250 persons in the recent past for not wearing masks. He said a drive had been launched to check the violations.

In Tarn Taran, 1,188 challaned for not wearing masks

Tarn Taran: The district police issued challans to as many as 1,188 persons in a single day for not wearing face masks here. SSP Dhruv Dahiya said each violator had been fined Rs 500 per head. The SSP appealed to people to make it a habit to wear mask when stepping out of house to keep themselves safe in these times of the Covid-19 threat. OC