‘People going for walks in parks not wearing masks’

Ludhiana: As the number of Covid cases are rising in the city, many people who go for morning and evening walks in various parks, including a main park, don’t wear mask. Many persons who go on morning walk shared that a sizeable percentage of people don’t wear masks.
“We are a group of morning walkers in Rakh Bagh just opposite the deputy commissioner's residence. Since unlock-1, we are regular walkers there and we have been going there for the last about 30 years. Here we find people from age group of 5 to 70 years roaming around without masks. We have many times pointed out to them to wear mask as they are posing risk to others who are wearing masks. But we face hostility many times in terms of sharp looks or verbal confrontation,” narrated Sandeep Jain, a businessman from Gurdev Nagar.
“Even seemingly educated people don't understand the risk. A few days ago I confronted a young person who was covering his mobile with a plastic bag but himself was without a mask. I told him that you can buy a new mobile if it got damaged but not life.” He added that about 30-40% of morning walkers who come to the park for walk don’t wear mask.
“Though in our parks, some people do wear masks during morning or evening walks but there are some who are not doing it. Apart from wearing mask, social distancing is also very important to check the spread of the disease. It is very necessary to cut the spread of the disease and that can be achieved only if all people follow the norms on Covid-19 prevention,” said Ravneet Singh, a BRS Nagar resident.
Many residents said even in many posh colonies, people going for morning and evening walks are not following the norms.
“Even as a good number of adults are not wearing masks and not maintaining social distancing, kids too are not doing so. I have seen many children playing in the park with no masks and I wonder how their parents allow them to go out without proper protection,” said a resident of a posh area in Dugri.
Police officials said they do act when they get inputs on such violations in parks, etc. “We had got inputs about such violations of rules in Rakh Bagh and Rose Garden and we had sent teams and issued challans. However, people should realize that it is a collective problem and request them to comply with the norms,” said Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Akhil Chaudhary.