NEW DELHI: In a major drive to enforce social distancing and wearing mask inside the metro premises to avoid Covid-19 spread, the Delhi Metro Railways Corporation (DMRC) fined over 23,000 passengers in the past three months- October to December for flouting the Covid-19 appropriate behavior at the station or in the trains.
As per the DMRC data, as many as 8,689 people were challaned in October, 6,588 in November and 8593 in December for not wearing masks or not maintaining social distancing. A total of 23,870 fines were imposed. Many were not fined but were given counselling in an attempt to ensure the travel guidelines by the DMRC.
Under Section 59 of Delhi Metro’s Operations and Maintenance Act, the violators can be imposed a fine of Rs 200 for not wearing a mask. The DMRC increased the number of flying squads and the frequency of checking drives to ensure that Covid protocol is strictly adhered to by the passengers. It also directed its officials posted at stations to intensify their inspections.
A DMRC official said, “As per the existing Covid safety protocol, it is mandatory for all the passengers to go through a thermal screening before entering the station, hand sanitization, wearing face mask and following social distancing in metro premises throughout their journey.”
Due to the strict reinforcement of the social distancing norms, the passengers were advised to plan their journey in advance with 20-30 minutes extra in hand. The DMRC urged that if possible, off peak hour travel may also be opted by those who have flexibility to avoid overcrowding during peak hours.