101 people fined for not wearing masks at railway stations in Mumbai

The Government Railway Police (GRP) penalised 101 people in the past two days for moving within railway premises in the city without masks.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) penalised 101 people in the past two days for moving within railway premises in the city without masks.

According to GRP officers, they started a drive on Tuesday to ensure safety of commuters using the train service and have already collected ₹29,200 as fine. “We needed to crackdown as we need to ensure safety of commuters during the pandemic. We found that people were not wearing masks despite us insisting for it,” said a GRP officer.

On Tuesday, GRP had penalised 35 people across the three railway lines in the city and collected a fine of ₹10,000. On Wednesday the police caught 66 passengers and fined them ₹19,200 with maximum number of people being penalised at Chhtrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT).

“On Tuesday we fined 25 passengers, and on Wednesday also the number was 25. Each commuter caught without mask was fined ₹200,” said Hemant Bawdhankar, senior police inspector, CSMT GRP.

The second station where maximum number of commuters was fined was Thane, followed by Kurla. Officers said that since the railways have started to allow women commuters along with essential workers, the concern for safety owing to Covid-19 infection has increased and hence, the drive will continue.