JOIN USOver 11,000 people penalised in Bengaluru Urban for Covid safety violations
The state’s crackdown against violation of mandatory face covering and social distancing has led to 92,545 penalties levied against individuals in a one-week period, of which the highest number — 11,624 — were from Bengaluru Urban.
The data, which was shared by the State Covid War Room, covered the period between October 10 and 17.
Ward-wise and zonal-wise data provided by the BBMP for violators “busted” over the weekend (October 17 and 18) shows that the highest numbers of violators per ward were in the South zone (15 per ward) and West zone (11 per ward). These zones also have the highest share of Covid-19 cases in the city.
On October 17, 589 violators were fined in the South zone, followed by 537 on October 18. Over these two days, the zone saw, on average, about 15 violators fined in each of its 44 wards. The next highest number was found in the West zone, with 490 people on Saturday and 456 on Sunday.
A government official in the West zone said that the zone had high numbers because it is jurisdictionally responsible for some of the old market areas and population-dense areas.
“The South, East and West zones, which have 44 wards each, cannot be compared to the smaller outlying wards. But what we have seen is that where mobility is high, violations are also high,” the official said.
D Randeep, Special Commissioner, BBMP, said the Palike has seen more violations happening in areas where there is more footfall such as market areas and religious locations.
The data also appears to show a socio-economic slant to violations where rule-breaking is more prevalent in lower economic neighborhoods. “At the same time, we have also seen a high number of infringements among walkers and joggers who know the rules,” Randeep said.
An examination of constituency-wise information found that in the West zone, Gandhinagar was host to the highest number of violators over the weekend (254), followed by Rajajinagar (190) and Malleswaram (171). Govindrajnagar had the least number of recorded violations (75).
In the South zone, BTM Layout constituency had the highest number of recorded violations (313), followed by Jayanagar (256) and Padmanabhanagar (233). Basavanagudi had the lowest number of recorded violations on both days (143).
Masks as compensation
The Palike said there have been repeated instances where violators could not pay the Rs 250 fine and those who demand masks as compensation. “The issue of handing out masks is being debated, but law enforcement personnel should not be having to dole out masks,” Randeep added.
Since October 6, the police have begun to independently fine violators. DCP Isha Pant, the nodal officer for Covid, said 109 of 117 police stations across the city are levying about 40 to 60 fines per day.
Scene in other districts
Other districts to see high violations fined are Belagavi (6,369), Koppal (5,959), Mysuru (4,950), Ballari (3,794), Chitradurga (3,947), Mandya (3,898), Hassan (3,783), Yadagir (3,546) and Raichur (3,514).