Do not have enough manpower to implement all Covid rules, says official as violation cases in June, July dip

There has been a noticeable decline over the past two months in the number violations for spitting at public places and not wearing a mask as per civic body data.

There has been a noticeable decline over the past two months in the number violations for spitting at public places and not wearing a mask as per civic body data.

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The number of cases reported in March for spitting at public places was 1,104 and Rs 1,36,615 was collected in fines. However, only six cases were registered in April and Rs 1,250 was collected in fines and two cases were reported in May; 12 in June and 39 in July for which Rs 2,050 and Rs 7,780 was collected in fines respectively. Mask violation rule was passed, implemented and observed over the past two months and only two cases were reported in May with the collection of Rs 1,000 as fine, which increased to 189 cases in June with the collection of Rs 90,100 in fines and Rs 1,98,500 as fine in July as 397 cases were reported. The government has put in place rules to wear a mask and not spit at public places in order to stop the spread of Covid-19 infection.

When the lockdown was first announced, the number of cases were high, however, it has been on a ever since. Dynaneshwar Molak, head of solid waste management, PMC, said, “The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had assigned the task to monitor these violations to some officials, but now due to the easing of restrictions, they have been assigned to different tasks. We do not have enough workforce to keep a check on the Covid-19 rules and norms. Therefore, there has been a fall in the registration of the cases in the last two months. Moreover, now 90% to 95% of people do wear masks and avoid spitting on the road.”

Dr Rahul Doshi, a general physician, said, “Covid-19 cases are increasing rapidly and citizens and government authorities have to cooperate with each other to stop the spread of the virus. The government cannot keep a check on citizens all the time and they should think about their health first and should stop the spread of the disease by following all rules and regulations.”

According to health experts, spitting in public places and not wearing a mask, both contribute to the spread of the infection.