VIJAYAWADA: Watch out before spitting in public places. If caught, you will attract a fine of Rs 1000 and even detention. To contain the spread of COVID-19, the State government on Sunday prohibited spitting in public places. Violators will be punished under the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc). As the government came up with the orders, municipal authorities in Vijayawada are all set to take action against violators.

Speaking to TNIE, VMC Commissioner V Prasanna Venkatesh said they had been sensitising the public about the hazards of spitting in different ways, including erecting banners at various junctions in the city since April 1. “In the next couple of days, the VMC with the support of the city police will conduct a special drive and penalise the violators,” Venkatesh said. 

The civic body has prohibited spitting in public places and warned that any violation will invite a fine of Rs 1,000. It has also deployed 50 volunteers/swachhagrahis exclusively to monitor and enforce the orders, the Commissioner said. In Visakhapatnam, the police are on the job. City police commissioner R K Meena said all police teams have been alerted.

 “Cases will be filed against those violating the orders and will be arrested,’’ he warned and added they are waiting for the higher-ups to frame rules and guidelines for policemen for its implementation. Awareness will be created among the people as well. The government order followed a letter from the Under Secretary to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (Tobacco Control Division) to the States that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had appealed to the general public not to consume and spit smokeless tobacco in public. 

This is the law 
Govt is authorised to act against violators under the Epidemic Diseases Act, Disaster Management Act, IPC and CrPC