Data shows that till date over 2.1 lakh people have been challaned over mask violations, around 22,000 for social distancing violations and 2,690 for spitting. (Express photo/File)The uptick in Covid cases in the capital has prompted district authorities to deploy additional teams to prevent violations, ranging from venturing out without masks to spitting in public places, resulting in a surge in penalties.
The decision to deploy additional enforcement teams was taken after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s warning against “complacency”, which had come against the backdrop of a steady rise in the number of cases in the city.
According to official data, while an average of 200 such penalties were imposed daily during the first week of June in every district, the numbers have now crossed 1,000 in most cases, with the Central district alone acting against over 2,100 people on Saturday over masks and social distancing violations.
The district had recorded an average of 168 penalties per day in the first week of June.
North district, meanwhile, recorded 1,208 penalties on Saturday, as against 150 daily penalties logged on an average in June. Both central and north districts have started fielding around nine additional teams in this regard.
The teams comprise an executive magistrate, along with officials from Delhi Police and the Revenue Department. The penalties, under the Delhi Epidemic Diseases, (Management of Covid-19) Regulations, 2020, range from Rs 500 for not wearing masks to Rs 1,000 for violating social distancing norms.
Data shows that till date over 2.1 lakh people have been challaned over mask violations, around 22,000 for social distancing violations and 2,690 for spitting. Police have collected over Rs 9 crore from fines on mask violations.
The number of additional teams have been decided based on the size and population density of a district. Apart from central and north, southwest district has deployed 20 extra teams.