Passengers of several government and private busses as well as autorickshaws, who were spotted without masks, were prosecuted at several places across the Bidhannagar commissionerate on Thursday.
An officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said 131 persons were prosecuted in areas like Salt Lake, Baguiati, Lake Town, Dum Dum and Rajarhat for not wearing masks while travelling on public transport as well as at markets.
At the Baguiati bus stand, the cops stopped at least a dozen buses and boarded them. “We found several passengers without masks. We warned some and gave them masks,” said the officer.
At the Karunamoyee bus stand, a team of officers were spotted flagging down app cabs along with autos and buses. “Many had the masks inside their pockets and purses while some said they could not breathe properly or were sweating with the face covers on,” said the officer.
Another team carried out a similar drive near Narayanpur in Rajarhat.
The cops also visited markets in Kestopur and Baguiati. Most of the shopkeepers and the visitors were not wearing any type of face cover. Some had the masks on their chin or hanging from their neck or ear.
At the Baguiati market, meat seller Shyamal Barik said Covid was a fake disease and there was no need to wear masks. “It is a conspiracy hatched to disrupt our livelihoods,” he said.
Pranay Kumar Ray, a member of the Bidhannagar civic body’s board of administrators in-charge of the health department, said the markets in Baguiati, Kestopur and the other areas off VIP Road were drawing huge crowds.
“Most are not wearing masks or maintaining any social distance. We carried out a drive today and asked people to wear masks,” said Ray.
“We have to keep in mind that the pandemic is far from over. Wearing masks and maintaining social distancing is of utmost importance,” said Kusum Adhikari, an official of the civic health department.
