Guwahati: Issuing a warning to the people flouting the COVID-19 norms by not wearing masks or face covers as per rule, Guwahati police commissioner Munna Prasad Gupta today said that police in plainclothes are on the lookout for such offenders.
"Yes, police personnel in plainclothes have been deployed across the city to assess the situation from the ground and ensure that people are donning masks as per the guidelines," Gupta told The Sentinel Digital. "If such offenders are found without wearing masks or face covers, they will be fined under the provisions of the law."
Munna Prasad Gupta has disclosed that around Rs. 16 lakh has been collected from violators found without wearing masks since the beginning of the ongoing drive to enforce this rule to contain the spread.
He has further appealed to the city dwellers to wear their masks and wear them properly. "If not, we will be forced to take action against them under relevant sections of the law for violating the code of conduct."
Currently, the fine for not wearing masks in Guwahati is Rs. 500. Repeat offenders of the same rule shall have to choke up a sum of Rs. 1,000.
The Guwahati Police has been tasked with ensuring the wearing of masks amid a worrying spike in the number of COVID-19 cases across the state, coinciding with India's massive boom. In Guwahati, especially, the spike in recent times has put the health machinery in a spot of bother, with the COVID-19 positivity rate also starting to exhibit a rising trend.
Earlier, Assam's Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna has promised "visible action" against those found violating the "norms of social distancing or found not wearing a mask." "It has been noticed that people are not following precautionary steps and are violating COVID-19 Protocols. From Monday onwards there shall be visible strict action taken against those who violate the norms of social distancing or found not wearing a face mask," the Chief Secretary wrote in a tweet.