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1,564 safety violations in Lonavla on first weekend after e-pass rollback
It includes all kinds of cases - without mask, social distancing violation, and tourism violation. However, most of the cases were for not wearing masks, according to the police.
A total of 1,564 cases of safety norm violations were registered in the Lonavla region by Pune rural police on the first weekend after the state government announced a rollback of e-passes for inter-district travel.
It includes all kinds of cases - without mask, social distancing violation, and tourism violation. However, most of the cases were for not wearing masks, according to the police.
“The floating population in Lonavla is very high. Since the e-pass was waived off, the rush was very much. Though we have stopped tourists from going to places like Tiger’s point, Sahara dam and Bushi dam - as was stated in the district magistrate (DM) order - the population in the market and other places rose up exponentially this weekend. And now the limited number of police personnel cannot do anything about it,” said Navneet Kanwat, the sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Lonavla division.
The division includes Lonavla city, Lonavla rural, Kamshet and Vadgaon Maval police stations which have multiple tourists spots in and around the Lonavla hill station.
The spots are accessible and frequented by people from Mumbai as well as Pune. However, crowds from nearby states could also be seen, according to police.
“The people travelling in cars are resisting ₹500 fine. People have also grown smart and pull up their masks when they see police,” said DySP Navneet Kumar Kanwat.
The local politicians and city council members are now working towards measures to reduce the number of cases with the flow of weekend tourists resuming, according to police.
However, Kanwat stressed on the need for self-discipline and observation of state and central government guidelines.
“The entire nation is facing a dilemma. Lockdown hurts tourism, economy and day-to-day needs and unlock increases Covid-19 cases. What we should learn is self-discipline. You come here only for two days, but you infect people who have to live here. In your enjoyment spree you should not forget to care for other human beings by wearing masks, even inside the car, and social distancing,” he said.
