BMC cracks down on marriage halls, hotels; stringent norms likely
MUMBAI: Amid a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in the city in a week, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has swung into action and raided several establishments over the weekend. With cases almost doubling in a week, the civic body is expected to impose more curbs in the city after a review meeting on Monday.
Continuing its upward Covid-19 graph on Sunday, Mumbai reported 921 new infections – its sharpest single-day spike since November 29 when 940 cases were recorded. As on Sunday, Mumbai’s caseload stands at 319,128, while the toll has reached 11,446. The recovery rate is 94.30% with 300,959 recoveries and fatality rate is 3.58%. There are 5,859 active cases.
Taking the spike very seriously, BMC started strict implementation of the lockdown norms. It took action against at least four establishments in Bandra and Khar and seven establishments, including marriage halls, in Dadar and Mahim for violating Covid-19 norms. A first information report (FIR) has been filed against a Bandra cafe for violating Covid-19 norms. The cafe owner was also asked to pay a fine of ₹50,000. BMC also filed a police complaint against four people for escaping the seven-day mandatory hotel quarantine after returning from Dubai.
In a statement, BMC said it collected over ₹32 lakh in fine from citizens for not wearing mask at hotels, night clubs, bars and marriage halls. According to officials, the highest penalty (₹4.61 lakh) was imposed by K-west (Versova, Yari Road) ward, where 2,345 persons were fined for not wearing masks. Mayor Kishori Pednekar warned that Covid-19 rules would be further tightened if citizens continue violating the norms. “I’m not saying we will impose a lockdown. But stricter norms during the unlocking will be imposed if citizens are found violating Covid-19 norms. We’ll be cautious when it comes to unlocking of schools and colleges, and their reopening might be on hold for a few more days. A final call on the situation will be taken on Monday during a review meeting with chief minister Uddhav Thackeray,” she said on Sunday.