CHENNAI: With the entire force of 20,000 police personnel deployed across the city for the imposition of the COVID-19 lockdown, vehicular movement which was considerable during the peak hours drastically fell during the rest of the day.
The police in the city, for the time being, have been instructed not to use force on violators and instead advise them to avoid stepping out. As many people took to their offices and other places to provide essential services, the police checked every vehicle and enquired where they were going.
In Anna Salai, near Spencers signal, a traffic police inspector pleaded with the public not to get out of their houses. The inspector explained the impact of community spreading and asked the people to remember their family members every time they get out of the house unnecessarily.
Police in the city checked every vehicle during peak hours from 7am to 9am. “Since there are some private companies exempted from Section 144, we made sure only people with work profiles exempted from the section are plying on the roads,” said a senior police officer.
“In case of people working in private companies, we asked them to show their ID cards and if they are traveling in office cabs, we asked them to show the office letter which we had already instructed the companies. People who said they were going to hospitals were asked to show case histories or any proof that they are going to the hospital,” he added.
Though the retail shops at Koyambedu were asked to shut down, some shops which had opened were later closed with the help of police. Many people who rushed to nearby stores to purchase vegetables and milk in the morning were asked to stand in a queue and in some places like Mandaveli and Virugambakkam, the police force was deployed to ensure that people did not flock to the stores.
In spite of several warnings, some small shops selling cigarettes were opened in Aminjikarai, Thirumangalam, Anna Nagar and Kilpauk and were forced to shut down by police personnel.
Roads in the city were almost completely deserted after 9am until 3pm. Police said some people might get out of their houses after 6pm and they will maintain high vigil.
Meanwhile, the special team of police who are assisting the health staff to visit people under home quarantine continued to make visits to ensure that people are staying in their houses. The Chennai city police have booked four people for disobeying the order.