What NDMC officials go through while enforcing COVID-19 restrictions
New Delhi: While the New Delhi Municipal Council has issued around 2,500 challans for COVID-19 violations, many of its sanitation inspectors and officials had to face hostility from offenders and in some cases officials had to pay they fines out of their own pockets after the offenders either refused to pay or ran away.
Mulitple such instances were seen at Bengali Market, Shankar Road, Mother Teresa Road, Lodhi Garden, and Khanna Market areas, where officials have had to pay the challan amount six times out of their own pocket, from September 26 till today. An FIR has also been registered against one such incident.
Moreover, in the last 10 days alone, NDMC has recorded 49 disputes while trying to issue challans in Connaught Place. It has also had to dial the police's 100 van-service 29 times for assistance and brought safety rule-violators to the police station 20 times.
"Several times, people resist paying the fine, and even become violent or run away. If someone becomes hostile, we call the police van (100 number) and register an FIR against them. We cannot physically detain them. They run away before the police van arrives. Sometimes people also refuse to divulge personal details such as phone number, address and showing their ID cards (to conceal their identity). We have no other option but to wait for the police van to arrive, they say do what you want, we won't pay the challan. To combat this, whenever we find someone not wearing a mask, or not following social distancing, we take a photograph or video before approaching them. Because a lot of times, they deny breaking the safety rules and immediately pull out masks from their pockets or stand apart", Dr Ramesh Kumar, NDMC's Medical Officer of Health and Director (Public Health).
NDMC officials have had to call for police assistance 63 times in the last 10 days while trying to issue these challans. They have also reported 77 incidents of physical altercations, and have visited police stations with rule-breakers 26 times. COVID-19 challans have mostly been issued at Connaught Place, Jor Bagh, Aurobindo Marg, Mandir Marg, Shankar Road, Pandara Road, Bengali Market, Lodhi Gardens, and Khanna Market areas, among others.
