Bhubaneswar: Acting swiftly on the violators not using masks in order to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the Zonal Deputy Commissioner (ZDC) of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) today collected a fine of Rs 8,000 from 40 persons as they were outside without wearing the mandatory masks.
On April 9 the Health and Family Welfare Department in its notification number 9695 made it mandatory for all citizens to wear masks to cover nose and mouth with any available form while coming out of their houses for any purpose. The notification has also included a handkerchief or any other clean piece of cloth with at least two layers can be worn in order to keep the spread of the virus at bay.
BMC’s team lead by senior officer Ashok Beuria has caught the people and collected the fine. The Health and Family Welfare Department and also BMC has declared that while on three initial offences fine of Rs 200 each could be collected from a person after three offences a fine of Rs 500 to be collected from a person violating the rule under the Odisha COVID-19 (Amendment) Regulations and power conferred under the Sections 2 and 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.
ZDC North Zone Pramod Kumar Prusty said “the citizens should behave responsibly as the COVID-19 pandemic has already spread its tentacles across the globe. As the health-care experts from WHO and ICMR are advocating for the use of masks to fight against the Corona virus, we will nab the violators who are not wearing masks and putting our society at danger.’’