Not wearing face mask in Mumbai? Then sweep roads

mumbai — Those who are caught without mask and refuse to pay the fine are asked to sweep the city roads as a punishment in Mumbai.

The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has introduced this tough measure to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

In the past two days (Thursday-Friday), over a hundred persons caught without face masks who refused or were unable to shell out the Rs200 fine, were handed brooms or mops and made to sweep or clean up stretches of roads in the city.

Interestingly, the stringent action came even as the BMC announced on Friday that in 212 days, it had collected a whopping Rs35 milion as fine since April, including Rs1.9 million only in October. Hoping to rein in the growing menace, this week, BMC Commissioner I.S. Chahal set a target of registering at least 20,000 cases against violators daily by civic teams.

The simple — but embarrassing — punishments are handed out as per the BMC’s Solid Waste Management Department’s bye-laws that empowers the civic body to ask people to do community services for offences like littering, urinating or spitting on roads. BMC teams have now fanned out all over Mumbai to keep a vigil on those flouting the rules, especially in crowded areas like markets or vicinity of railway stations.

While some people apologise for their mistake when caught and even volunteer to render any community service given to them, some others resort to abuse or threatening the civic officials, said Assistant Municipal Commissioner Vishwas Mote.

However, the BMC’s latest effort to enforce wearing of masks has found takers on the social media with many giving ‘thumbs up’ to the move in the larger public interest. —