More than 500 fined at APMC for not following Covid norms

Cops, civic body officials visit market complex on Wednesday and Thursday

The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) along with the Navi Mumbai police made a surprise visit at the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) on Wednesday and Thursday morning and fined more than 500 people for violating Covid-19 norms. Those found violating the Covid-19 norms included traders, mathadi workers, visitors and truck drivers.

Early this week, the civic chief Abhijit Bangar had made a surprise visit to the market complex and directed APMC administration to adhere to COVID 19 norms to avoid the lockdown.

Five markets namely spice, onion-potato, vegetables, fruits and grain market, witness around 50,000 visitors everyday

In the past, APMC was the epicenter of Covid-19 cases. Suresh Mengade, deputy commissioner of police (Zone 1) said, “There were reports of norms violations at the market complex for the past few days. It was a joint visit of civic body and police on Wednesday and Thursday.” He added that they took action more than 500 people during the two days special drive. The NMMC officials collected the fines from citizens for not wearing face masks. “We also registered offenses wherever we spotted large groups of people who had not maintained social distance,” said Mengde.

According to the NMMC sources cases have increased by 45% in Navi Mumbai in the past two weeks.

Sanjay Kakade, additional commissioner of NMMC said, “Our teams are also inspecting the different private functions and penalizing people who are violating the norms. We appeal to the residents to cooperate with us and help prevent the spread of Covid-19.”