Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Police have collected fines of over Rs 1 crore from people who have violated COVID-19 norms in four days. This information was shared on the official Twitter handle of the Odisha Police.
Following orders from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the state police had launched the special drive for 10 days to enforce COVID-19 safety regulations April 7 onwards. Naveen himself has launched the ‘mission mask’ programme a couple of days to emphasise the importance of covering the nose and mouth.
The over-Rs 1 crore fine has been collected from 11, 500 persons. Most of them were guilty of not wearing masks or using them improperly. People have also been fined for not following social distancing norms.
Cumulatively, in four days, action has been taken against 44846 violators of Covid protocols in the State and penal fines amounting to Rs. 1, 25, 32, 000 /- have been collected. Behave responsibly and follow the #Covid19 guidelines.
— Odisha Police (@odisha_police) April 11, 2021
Saturday was the fourth day of the special drive. A total of Rs 34,64,400 was collected from offenders. It took the total fine amount collected to Rs 1,25,32,000 in four days.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has increased the penalty on not wearing or improperly wearing masks April 9 onwards. For the first and second offence, a person will be fined Rs 2,000 on each occasion. From the third occasion onwards, the fine will be Rs 5,000 for violators.
The collection of fines amounting to over Rs 1 crore has laid bare the gravity of the situation. It indicates as to how people are till flouting norms despite appeals by the government.
PNN