COVID-19: Police roped in to implement mask rule in Thane

THANE: In an attempt to ensure strict implementation of the COVID-19 mask rule in public places, the civic body in Maharashtra's Thane city has decided to rope in the police, mayor Naresh Mhaske said on Wednesday.

In an official release, the mayor said the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has decided to take the help of police to collect fines from citizens who don't wear masks in public places.

City police commissioner Vivek Phansalkar and the civic commissioner Dr Vipin Sharma have declared that the rule will be implemented strictly, the statement said.

Of the fines collected by the police, 50 per cent will be deposited with the civic body and the remaining will be credited to the police welfare fund, Mhaske said.

Meanwhile, in view of the rising cases of COVID-19, the civic corporations in and around Thane have intensified their drive and have been fining thousands of people every day, an official said.

The TMC has collected Rs 5.5 lakh in fines from people caught without masks, the civic body's public relations officer Sandeep Malavi said.

Apart from this, the corporation has sealed 132 shops that operated beyond the permissible time of 7 pm in the city, he said.

In Navi Mumbai, the civic body has collected Rs 6.5 lakh in fines from violators so far, while the Kalyan Dombivili Municipal Corporation has collected Rs 82,3000 in fines in the last 10 days, officials said.