CHENNAI: With the second wave already upon us, 350 city corporation staff have been deployed from Saturday for stricter implementation of Covid safety protocols. “Assistant Revenue officers will be in-charge and the 350 staff include our assessors and tax collectors,” a senior corporation official told Express. In each zones, teams will be divided to cover commercial establishments, markets and other crowded areas. Assistant Revenue Officers that Express spoke to said that establishments violating norms will be warned and fined the first two times. If they continue to violate norms, shops may be sealed.
“With shop owners realising that they might be affected and incurring huge loss if fines are levied or shops sealed, they started distributing free masks to make sure everyone wears a mask,” said a revenue official.
“I went to inspect three supermarkets in KK Nagar, where free masks were being distributed,” said a corporation official.“Since televisions and other media have flashed Covid news prominently, we noticed a lot more people have started wearing masks,” said a revenue official.
However, there is an increasing number of residents who engage in altercations with corporation staff when confronted, said staff on the ground. “We feel like they will listen to us only if we are accompanied by police personnel.,” said a Corporation official. Not wearing masks properly will be punished with a fine of Rs 200. Violation of social distancing norms by individuals will attract a fine of Rs 500.
Spas, gyms and other commercial establishments found in violation of standard operating procedures may have to pay a fine of Rs 5,000. Individuals who fail to follow the stipulated guidelines in containment zones (buildings/streets where there are a cluster of Covid 19 cases) may have to pay a fine of Rs 500. Vehicles or commercial establishments that fail to follow these guidelines will be fined Rs 5,000. Chennai Metro Rail will levy a fine of Rs 200 from Sunday if it finds people not wearing masks or wearing the masks improperly inside metro stations.