First day of sector-wise lockdown brings chaos and hope in Chennai

CHENNAI: The city witnessed chaos from 6 am to 10 am on Tuesday as the new sector-wise vehicle restriction came into effect. While senior officers said the system will take some days to bear fruit, a few expressed concern over the prolonged waiting time at checkpoints.

Earlier on Monday, the Chennai Police Commissioner Shankar Jiwal had ordered the city to be divided into 348 sectors to contain vehicular movements.

The police personnel of the Law and Order division and Traffic division installed over 200 checkpoints. The Greater Chennai Police has 13 police districts and over 20 police stations under each district.

The press statement said that the city has been divided into 348 sectors, based on the police station limits and people traveling from one sector to another must have registered in the online portal. The e-registration is provided for essential purposes and medical emergencies only.

As the new implementation came into effect on Tuesday, thousands of motorists, who thronged the streets, were stopped by cops at checkpoints and vehicles were allowed only after thorough checking. At Anna Salai, GST Road, CTH road and OMR, several vehicles were caught in a traffic block caused by the vehicle checking.

While a few people questioned the personnel and picked up arguments, the police on duty explained to them about the situation and asked them not to roam around without any reason.

"This is the first day of the implementation and it would take at least two days for people to get used to it. People who roamed today without any reason would not come outside tomorrow seeing the strict enforcement," said a senior police officer.

While several people welcomed the move few expressed concerns. "We appreciate the sector-wise implementation as it restricts people from loitering. Yet there could be another systematic method to avoid chaos," says H Jayashankar, from Ice House,  who picked up an argument with the personnel at Anna Salai.

The police have deployed 205 motorbike patrols and 309 four-wheeler patrols across the city to maintain law and order after 10 am.

The people living in containment zones are requested not to step out.

On Monday the city police registered 2,855 cases and seized 3082 vehicles during the vehicle checks. Moreover 3,619 people were booked for not wearing face masks, 392 for not maintaining social distancing and 49 shops were issued challan for violating covid protocols. The city police collected a fine of Rs 8,59,200 on Monday.

The seized vehicles were given back to the people in the evening.

(If the essential workers are denied entry or exit at vehicle checkpoints they can contact the Chennai city police public relations officer at 23452320 and 9498130011)