Apology for a lockdown gives state Covid-19 hotspot tag

Unconcerned Citizens On The Roads, Weak Implementation Leave Tamil Nadu At Risk

Team TOI  10.04.2020

In the two weeks of lockdown, Tamil Nadu has moved from being a state with one of the lowest rates of infection to registering the second highest number of Covid-19 cases in the country. While the Tablighi Jamaat cluster linked to the group’s congregation in Delhi last month accounts for the largest number, neither the government nor the public appears to take social distancing norms seriously.

People in fish, vegetable and meat markets crowd together like a shoal of fish. Youth continue to roam about on twowheelers aimlessly. On Thursday, two people who tested Covid-19 positive on Mint Street in Chennai do not have any travel or contact history. Civic officials fear they could have got infected at a grocery or vegetable shop. Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has declared TN could be heading towards community infection stage.

If figures could sum up failure of the lockdown, 1.12 lakh cases were registered by state police for lockdown violations since March 24 midnight, more than 97,000 vehicles have been seized and 1.24 lakh people arrested and released on bail.

“There have been islands of success, mostly in villages. There is no denying that the vast majority of the population has stayed indoors. But success of a lockdown can be sabotaged by a miniscule segment of society that insists on not following the rules. “If police show leniency towards them, it reflects moral bankruptcy of the force,” said a serving DGP-level officer.

During the initial days of the lockdown, police were ruthless in handling violators. Motorists were stopped and fined, lathicharged and made to do sit-ups and duck walks on thoroughfares to dissuade them from venturing out again. Trichy city police commissioner V Varadharaju said, “A woman, who travelled from Srirangam to Chathiram bus stand to buy mushrooms on Wednesday was fined ₹500”. In Tiruvallur district, police are using an app to check if home quarantined people venture out.

“Police action became unpopular because they did not apply their mind. They went about thrashing doctors and newspaper vendors, exempted from lockdown. And of late, police are making a spectacle of themselves by pleading before lockdown violators,” said K Sathyanarayanan, a financial consultant.

Section 144 of CrPC does not allow congregation of more than four people. But the restriction should not be interpreted to mean that till the number touches four, police should not act. The spirit of the clause is to restrict movement of people for nonessential purposes. Moreover, the not-more-than-four clause is meant for riot-like situation. Since the Epidemics Act and the Disaster Management Act have also been invoked, police are well within their rights to question every single person on the road.

Courts have also backed the police. The Madras high court said it cannot do anything about action being taken against people who venture out without reason. While it asked police to be humane while handling violators, no court order was issued restraining police from wielding lathis or imposing other on-thespot punishments on violators.

Though government orders have made clear who can step out and for what, the state has not put in place enough systems to ensure people don’t have to step out. For example, in a residential colony of 2,000 houses, if everything from vegetables to groceries and medicines are delivered at the door step by people authorised by civic bodies (after ensuring they are free from infection), hardly five to six people would be moving around to distribute things. Now at least 500-600 people step out of their houses on a daily basis, said a police official.

Horticulture and dairy development departments have taken initiatives in the past one week to door deliver vegetables, fruits and milk. CMDA, which manages Koyambedu wholesale market, flagged off 500 vehicles with fruits and vegetables on Wednesday. Many district collectors and corporation commissioners have deployed vehicles for delivering vegetables at the doorstep of customers. Chennai corporation has engaged about 7,000 tricycles and autos to sell grocery items. But why did the government fail to sense this need on day one of the lockdown and why hasn’t the government made door delivery of essentials a state-wide policy yet? “No shop should be allowed to entertain walk-in customers. They should take orders over phone or apps and only door deliver commodities,” said Sathyanarayanan.

“There should be clear-cut distinction between what is a humanitarian gesture and what a criminal act. No political, religious, caste and social consideration should come into play for police while dealing with those who defy Section 144 of CrPC. Police should make an example of such violators,” said another senior IPS official.

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IN THE RED: (Clockwise from top) It was business as usual at the Kasimedu harbour despite the call for social distancing during the lockdown; people thronged markets for vegetables especially on weekends; police register cases against violators in Chennai