HT Correspondent
Biswanath Chariali, May 4: In view of the deteriorating Covid scenario, Biswanath district administration is coming down heavily on violators of Covid rules and guidelines. Regular enforcement drives are being carried out across the district and fines are being imposed on violators.
In the past week a sum of Rs 58,900 has been collected as fine on people for not wearing masks in public places. Regular drives are also underway by the transport department to ensure all Covid rules are complied by passengers and staff of public transport vehicles.
“We have to be very strict on violators. We can’t let the situation spiral out of control. I have already instructed my officers to strictly enforce Covid related rules and guidelines and show no leniency on violators. We are even contemplating registering FIRs on violators,” said Pranab Kumar Sarmah, deputy commissioner of Biswanath.
BiswanathChariali circle officer Debananda Nath, who heads one of the enforcement teams; said that after they started imposing on-the-spot fines on people not wearing masks, the fear factor of fines has helped make people wear masks. However, he said there were still several pockets where people were brazenly flouting Covid rules. The enforcement teams, he said, would become stricter from now onwards and focus on those pockets where violations are more.
Because only an aware citizenry can help stem the spread of the virus, the district administration has arranged mobile announcements where all the Covid rules and protocols are being detailed to the people. The announcement vehicles move throughout the nook and corners of the district to generate awareness among people.
Simultaneously, Biswanath district administration is also focusing on vigorous testing with the objective to immediately isolate the infected people. In addition, regular sanitisation of public places, like markets, bus stands, railway stations, offices, business establishments etc. are being
carried out by Biswanath Municipal Board and block offices. Passengers arriving in the district by bus and trains are also being tested at entry points and railway stations.