People should come out only for essential needs from Monday after the full-scale lockdown is relaxed and not roam around unnecessarily, said City Police Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal.
Speaking to the media persons near Anna Arch after inspecting the complete lockdown in the city on Sunday, he said that experts had stated that lesser public movement could help break the chain of transmission.
“When people come out, they should wear masks and ensure personal distancing,” he said. He added that all the deputy commissioners of police in the city had held a meeting with traders in their jurisdiction to ensure that all necessary safety measures were followed.
The officers had told the traders to ensure that customers wore masks, used sanitisers in the shop and followed personal distancing. “Announcements about the safety measures are made through the public address system in Madhavaram fruit market and the fish markets in Kasimedu and Chintadripet. Police personnel have been deployed there. If all precautions are followed, we can continue with our routine life without getting infected,” he said.
From June 19 till date, a total of 1.10 lakh Section 144 violation cases had been registered and 87,000 vehicles seized, Mr. Aggarwal said.
Friends of Police
Regarding talks about a ban on Friends of Police (FoP) in many districts, he said that it was just a form of community policing and some people came forward to serve the public.
“In some places they are called volunteers and some call it FoP. Community policing ensures transparency. Sometimes traders volunteer to regulate traffic and ensure other shop owners follow lockdown rules. But they do not have police powers. Neither the police nor such volunteers should display high-handedness,” said Mr. Aggarwal.
He said that police officers had been directed not to encourage volunteers who had cases or complaints against them.