Chennai shop owners to get penalised if found flouting intensified Covid-19 lockdown norms

CHENNAI: The corporation has extended the operation timings of zonal-enforcement teams to ensure that shops and commercial establishments flouting Covid-19 protocol are punished, officials said.

A senior official from the revenue department told The New Indian Express that mobile-zonal enforcement teams will operate till 9.00 pm (when shops should put up the shutters).

There are two zonal-enforcement teams in each of the 15 zones of the city corporation. “We are in the process of compiling fines collected and shops sealed for the day. Details will be known only at the end of Sunday,” said an official. A popular supermarket in Kamala Nagar in Porur, and a textile store at Kundrathur Main Road were asked to close down and were fined Rs 15,000 each after they were found to have not observed social-distancing norms.

“Based on our Standard Operating Procedure, we check for mask compliance, social distancing and sanitation. Depending upon the nature of violation and frequency, we may issue warnings, close the shop for a day or file FIRs against them,” said an official of a zonal enforcement team. Another official, in charge of monitoring the Koyambedu market, said that the shops were crowded and safety protocols were being violated in many shops in the market.

“Where there is supposed to be only one shop is informally let out to other smaller shops. So, there is crowding. If the public do not cooperate, there is little shopkeepers can do. But, as a way of warning them against violating norms in the future, we have fined 6-7 shops in the market,” said the official.

Violation of home quarantine

Meanwhile, after the corporation announced that those violating home quarantine norms will be slapped with a fine or admitted to Covid-19 care centres, it received 27 complaints of such violations across the city, according to a press release from the corporation on Saturday. While investigating the complaints, revenue department authorities found that in 15 of these 27 cases, there were no violations and two had been admitted to hospitals across the city.

Ten of these people have been fined Rs 2,000 each, collecting a total of Rs 20,000. “They have been warned against violating the norms in future. If they do so, they will be admitted to Covid care centres,” the press release said. Of the 52,039 persons under home isolation in the city, 51,982 people have been contacted through the city corporation’s tele counselling centre to follow up with symptoms and their mental well being, according to a release from the city corporation.