Some residents don’t mask up, many wear it improperly

Some residents don’t mask up, many wear it improperly

Civic Body Collects Over ₹72L In Fine In 15 Days

Komal.Gautham@timesgroup.com

Chennai:27.04.2021

The number of Covid-19 cases continues to surge, but residents continue to be lax in wearing masks. Greater Chennai Corporation in the last 15 days collected about ₹72.8 lakh in fines and closed down more than 50 shops and restaurants for protocol violation.

Most people cover just their mouths with a mask, while many in the working class do not even wear one saying it gets wet in no time. Several with cloth/ surgical masks don’t wear them in small workplace gatherings, increasing risk of infections.

At a courier agency TOI visited on Monday, the employees said it was too hot to wear a mask, while those at a departmental store wore it only when customers insisted. Roadside vendors had handkerchiefs around the face and shops at T Nagar and Pondy Bazaar were overcrowded.

The highest collection of fines in the last 15 days is from Teynampet zone (₹10.8 lakh), followed by Royapuram (₹7.2 lakh), Tondiarpet (₹6.5 lakh) and Kodambakkam (₹5.2 lakh), which includes Pondy Bazaar and T Nagar. The lowest (₹3 lakh) was from Thiruvottiyur despite very few commercial establishments and more industries.

Corporation deputy commissioner (works) Meghnath Reddy said there is compliance but many aren't following rules. “People need to understand that wearing a mask not just protects them but others too.”

V Santhanam, an activist from suburban Chromepet, said the city was better than others in mask compliance, but “unless they wear it properly, it will not serve any purpose.”

Kovilambakkam resident Sajid Hussain said many people pull their masks down when they want to talk. “Masks are mostly on the chin,” he said.

Dr V Sridhar of Mylapore said there was a misconception that a mask completely protects the wearer. “The primary purpose is to prevent the virus spreading from the wearer's body by getting trapped in the mask. If everyone wears a mask, everyone else is protected. Wearing a mask amounts to social responsibility, not personal protection.”

RULES? WHAT RULES? A handful of people wears a mask properly and some either keep their noses exposed or rest it below their chin and most don’t give a hoot for the most important Covid protocol. A recent file photo of ever-busy Ranganathan Street in T Nagar shows the prevailing reality on the ground