Kolkata: Not wearing mask properly may land you in trouble

KOLKATA: As Covid cases continue to rise and people are increasingly found flouting basic rules, Kolkata Police has decided to ensure that people not only wear the mask, but wear them properly.
The stricture came after at least 30% of those fined were found to be wearing the mask merely as an accesory without realizing the importance of wearing it. Last week, commissioner Anuj Sharma had asked all cops to implement all lockdown guidelines as far as possible. “We have been ensuring that people wear the mask properly,” said Nilanjan Biswas, DC (South West).
“We are finding many people are not wearing the mask in the proper manner. This is like the helmet syndrome. Several of them are wearing it or merely covering their faces with handkerchiefs only when they are noticing cops around. They are forgetting that they are to use the mask as a prevention against a virus,” said a senior divisional officer.
According to an IPS officer, people need to understand the importance of wearing masks. “We can always penalize violators. But they must understand that this can act as a simple tool to stop the community spread. Putting on a mask must come as easily as you wear a shoe, or like putting on a uniform. It should go hand-in-hand with other practices like not touching your face or maintaining social distancing,” said an IPS officer.
In the first week of June, state chief secretary Rajiva Sinha had written to Bengal’s director general of police, commissioner of Kolkata Police and zonal inspector generals of police, pointing out that there must be stricter implementation of the mandatory wearing of masks and violators should be punished as specified in the state government order on masks dated April 12. “As a measure to contain the spread of contagion, wearing of mask is important and must be ensured and enforced appropriately,” he had written.